Connecticut attorney general William Tong says he sent a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, inquiring into the circumstances of a potential sale of the Connecticut Sun.
‘I am launching the inquiry because I am concerned about reports in the press that the WNBA may be wrongly blocking the sale of the Connecticut Sun that would keep the team here in Connecticut,’ Tong said at a Thursday, Sept. 11, news conference.
‘I am concerned that they might be doing so in a manner that might be anti-competitive and may violate state and federal laws.’
It was reported on Aug. 2 that a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca had made an agreement with the Mohegan Tribal Nation to buy the Sun for a record $325 million with the intention of moving the team to Boston. Another group led by former Milwaukee Bucks minority owner Marc Lasry also had interest, with the intention of moving the team to Hartford, Connecticut.
The WNBA never presented the Pagliuca bid to its Board of Governors and released a statement saying it would control the location of all cities in the WNBA. The league, ESPN reported, also offered to buy the Sun from the Mohegan Tribe for $250 million and move it to a city of its choosing.
‘The WNBA is demanding the team be sold back to the league at a price tens of millions dollars below the market value of the team,’ Tong said. ‘Does the WNBA have the legal right?’
Tong said he is asking for a number of documents from the WNBA, including a copy of the league’s operating agreement, the membership agreement between the Sun and the WNBA, the league’s operating manual and its rules and regulations.
Additionally, Tong is seeking copies of all valuations of the Sun, including any appraisal, offer and/or expression of interest. The state, he said, is doing it to find out ‘what arguments we have to keep the team here.’
‘This team means a lot of to the state of Connecticut,’ Tong said. ‘For more 20 years we have spent launching, growing, supporting, loving this team. … They belong to us and I don’t think the WNBA should take them away from us.
‘I am going to fight as hard as I possible can and we’re going to exhaust every option to keep them here, where they belong.’
In recent days, the state of Connecticut has floated a plan to buy a minority stake in the team with the intention of keeping it in the state. Gov. Ned Lamont on Sept. 10 got behind the potential purchase of a share of the Sun as an investment opportunity.
“Ask Mohegan Sun whether it was a good investment they made 20 years ago,” Lamont said.
The Mohegan Tribal Nation, the owner of the Mohegan Sun casino, purchased the Orlando Miracle in 2003 for $10 million. The team plays in Uncasville, Connecticut, less than an hour’s drive southeast of Hartford.
The Sun played their final game of the season on Sept. 10. They finished 11-33, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Sun have reached the postseason in 16 of their 23 seasons in Connecticut, making the WNBA Finals four times but never winning a title.
A timeline of the Connecticut Sun sale saga
Sept 11: Connecticut attorney general William Tong announced at a news conference that he sent a letter to the WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, inquiring into the circumstances of a potential sale of the Sun.
Sept. 10: Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont pitched a plan for Connecticut to become an investor in the Sun through the multibillion-dollar public employee pension funds it manages.
Sept. 8: U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, sent a letter to the WNBA stating the league should stay out of negotiations between the Mohegan tribe and prospective ownership groups.
Aug. 19: ESPN reported that the Sun ownership was trying to salvage a deal to sell the team by presenting multiple options to the WNBA.
Aug 3: Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti said the team planned to play at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2026 because the deal with Steve Pagliuca’s Boston-based investor group was ‘not quite at the finish line yet.’
Aug 2: Reports surface that a group led by Celtics minority owner Pagliuca reached a deal to buy the Sun for a record $325 million and move the team to Boston.
May 13: Rizzotti said the Mohegan Tribal Nation group, which owns the Sun, was ‘exploring all options to strategically invest in the team,’ including a potential sale.