The Connecticut Sun will relocate to Texas in 2027 after the franchise was sold to the ownership group behind the NBA’s Houston Rockets, ending the Nutmeg State’s 24 season run with a WNBA team.
State officials and fans have reason to feel frustrated, said Hartford Courant columnist Dom Amore, who pointed to the league’s role in steering the outcome.
“They certainly have a right to feel that they were treated unfairly by, not so much the WNBA, but the NBA, which effectively runs the WNBA,” Amore said.
The Mohegan Tribe, which bought the team for about $10 million and is now selling it for roughly $300 million, chose not to pursue legal action that could have delayed or complicated the deal. Tribe officials did not respond to request for comment. While the tribe has not publicly explained why they accepted the Houston deal, it has been widely reported that the tribe has been deeply in debt due to a failed investment in South Korea.
“They took the $300 million in hand, rather than get involved suing the league to try to get $25 million more,” Amore said.
Competing bids, blocked options
Amore said a Boston-area group had reached a deal to buy the team for about $325 million and keep it in New England, but the league rejected that proposal.“The league stepped in and said, ‘No, no, no, we don't want that,’” Amore said.
A separate effort to move the team to Hartford’s newly renovated People’s Bank Arena also failed to gain approval. Amore questioned the league’s reasoning for blocking a Hartford relocation, on the grounds that the league had also allowed the New York Liberty’s WNBA team to move from Newark, to Westchester to Brooklyn.
“I would say that that is completely flawed logic because Hartford is still in Connecticut,” he said.
He added that both Hartford and Boston offered larger arenas than Mohegan Sun Arena, which seats about 8,000 and has become too small for the league’s growth.
“The only reason anyone was willing to pay $300 million is to get them out of that arena and into a bigger arena,” Amore said.
Why Houston?
Amore said the move reflects broader league priorities, including geography and ownership structure.
“They wanted to move a franchise from the east to the west, and so Houston was where they wanted to go,” he said.
He also suggested the NBA’s preference for WNBA teams to be owned by NBA ownership groups played a role.
“Adam Silver wants NBA owners to own the WNBA teams,” Amore said.
A difficult reality for Connecticut
The Sun’s departure leaves Connecticut without a major league professional franchise, something Amore said reflects broader market challenges.
“This is a women’s basketball market,” he said, noting strong regional interest in the sport due largely to the success of the University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball program.
But he added that Connecticut’s position between larger media markets makes it difficult to compete for teams and television revenue.
“It’s always going to be hard to sell Connecticut as a major market,” Amore said.
What comes next?
Any return of the WNBA to Connecticut would be an uncertain path, Amore said.
“They’re going to have to bid for an expansion team and win,” he said.
Even then, he added, Connecticut may remain a long shot unless other major markets are already filled.
“I would say that the odds of the WNBA coming back to Connecticut would be bleak,” Amore said.
