Will WNBA let Steve Pagliuca steward Connecticut Sun? Or will ownership tensions get in way?

New York Times

2 days ago

Steve Pagliuca and Bill Chisholm have dueled over a professional basketball franchise's future before. Now, with the Connecticut Sun up for sale, both owners are linked again.
In March, the NBA's Boston Celtics announced that Chisholm, the managing partner of Symphony Technology Group, would be the next owner of the historic franchise, purchasing the team at a $6.1 billion valuation — a then-record in the NBA.
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Pagliuca had been a Celtics minority owner since partnering with the Grousbeck family in 2002 and had long been considered a contender to obtain the franchise. When news was announced that he wouldn't be the next majority owner, and Chisholm would be, Pagliuca penned a lengthy statement reflecting on his failed bid.
'We have felt it was the best offer for the Celtics. It is a bid of true fans, deeply connected to Boston's community, and we've been saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process,' he wrote.
On Sunday night, Pagliuca released another statement — his first on X since March when he weighed in on his Celtics bid.
Chisholm was not mentioned in Pagliuca's statement, but he appears to be looming over the WNBA team's potential sale. This time, Pagliuca wants to buy the WNBA's Connecticut Sun. But will the WNBA let him? Or will conflicts — potentially with Chisholm yet again — hold up the transaction?
Pagliuca is reportedly seeking to purchase the Sun at a women's professional sports team record $325 million sale price and would then invest $100 million in a practice facility. The franchise, according to the Boston Globe, could relocate to Boston as soon as 2027, if a deal were to be finalized. (Pagliuca said in his statement he wants to keep the Sun in New England, and he specifically mentioned support from the governors of both Massachusetts and Rhode Island.)
A record deal to an ownership group would seemingly be a coup for the WNBA — the last WNBA team to have a standalone majority sale was the Atlanta Dream in 2021 for less than $10 million — but the Sun relocating under Pagliuca's watch appears to be facing some resistance.
The WNBA said in a statement on Saturday that relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors. It added that no group from Boston was among the dozen cities that bid for an expansion team by the Jan. 31 deadline. A source with knowledge of the expansion bids submitted also said Hartford, Conn., was not among the cities that bid for a team, though former Bucks owner Marc Lasry has subsequently bid to relocate the Sun to Connecticut's state capital.
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Perhaps, most interestingly, the WNBA said that the Celtics' prospective ownership group — led by Chisholm — has also 'reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.' (Chisholm's deal is still pending NBA Board of Governors approval.)
So Chisholm, the incoming steward of the Celtics, appears to now be interested in a WNBA franchise in Boston at a later date. Pagliuca, an outgoing Celtics partner, is looking to make moves in the near term, yet he can do so only by getting approval from others in the league.
A fight appears to be brewing between two power players. One that is especially notable, as the WNBA recently unveiled three new expansion teams (in Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia), with NBA ties. It all begs the question, why is the sale process hitting a delay?
Pagliuca has already made clear his group's offer is subject to obtaining required league approvals — presumably not only approval of the initial sale, but also, via a separate vote, to also to relocate the franchise. Without both, PagsGroup would not proceed.
Boston seems like a logical place for the Sun to relocate. The franchise has already sold out games when it's played at TD Garden in each of the past two seasons, and multiple Sun players have expressed their support for playing in the city. Boston is one of the country's top 10 biggest media markets, and it has proven basketball success. By 2027, the franchise could also be the home of college star JuJu Watkins, as the Sun — with another subpar season next year — would be well-positioned to have the best draft lottery odds in what could become known as The Watkins' Lottery.
'Boston is the perfect place for a WNBA team,' Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy, a former Harvard basketball point guard and international pro player, said in a statement to The Athletic. 'We are the hub of New England and the birthplace of basketball. We have an incredible sports culture and strong enthusiasm for women's sports. …This would be a great opportunity for our state, for the league and for the players.'
That's one politician's take, but internal league politics could prevent it from ever happening. A new NBA owner who just paid billions might not want another owner to steward a professional basketball franchise (in two leagues under the NBA umbrella) in the same city.
Then, there is also a potential for the WNBA to upset other professional basketball owners — some of whom also have NBA ties.
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Last month, Gretchen Sheirr, the Houston Rockets president of business operations, told The Athletic that Houston will continue to pursue a team, after not being awarded any of the three incoming expansion teams in 2028, 2029 and 2030. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert specifically mentioned Houston as being 'up next for sure.' She added: 'There might be opportunities there.' The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that the city remains a contender to purchase the Sun, while saying that the Houston expansion bid was at least $50 million short of the eventual $250 million expansion fees that the three recently announced teams are entering in with.
If the Sun were sold, it isn't clear whether another current WNBA franchise would be ripe for the Rockets' ownership group to purchase and relocate. Another round of expansion seems years away, making it difficult for Houston, Boston or any other city to get into the WNBA.
All of this appears to be partly why Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti said Sunday that a sale by the Mohegan Tribe is 'not quite at the finish line yet.'
The Sun might rise in Boston soon enough, but not before another clash. The next most exciting WNBA contest in the city will play out in boardrooms.
(Photo of Steve Pagliuca: Jonathan Moscrop / Getty Images)
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