As the WNBA enters a new era after the newly agreed CBA, the governing body will also see one franchise go through a major $325 million change ahead of the new season. This hasn’t gone down well with the Hartford mayor.
The WNBA franchise, Connecticut Sun, will move to Houston. The move has been confirmed, with the franchise set to play this year in Uncasville, Connecticut, before moving to Houston before the 2027 season. Cathy Engelbert has given the WNBA’s approval to the move as well.
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Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam has reacted to the news, sharing his disappointment at not being able to keep the Connecticut Sun in Connecticut, the proverbial basketball capital of the world.
“It’s incredibly disappointing,” Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said Monday. “We just had an incredibly exciting day of basketball (Sunday) with the men’s and women’s Huskies making it to the Final Four, and this is the basketball capital of the world, I still believe that.”
“The thought of losing our one professional basketball franchise, a franchise that, based on the sale price, grew in market value more than 10 times since they came to this state, is just really disappointing as a fan and as mayor of the city.”
Connecticut has a storied history in basketball, especially at the college level. The UConn Huskies are one of the most dominant teams in both men’s and women’s college basketball, with both teams reaching the Final Four of their respective NCAA Tournaments again this year.
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The two teams share 18 NCAA Division 1 Championships between them, making the college program one of the most successful in college basketball.
The WNBA Franchise started in Miami and was called the Orlando Miracle, and has won two conference titles under the Connecticut Sun leadership. The Mohegan Tribe had displayed its intent to sell, with bids worth $325 million coming in to keep the franchise within Connecticut and another offer to take the franchise to Boston.
However, the decision to move to Houston has been confirmed, having sold the franchise to Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta.
The Connecticut Sun name will cease to exist from the 2027 season. The Houston Comets will take their place within the WNBA, which makes this the Last Dance for the franchise in Connecticut. The UConn program, though, continues to break records.
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The Connecticut Sun sale marks the return of the iconic Houston Comets
As Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta’s offer to buy the Connecticut Sun was confirmed, the move heralded the return of one of the WNBA’s iconic franchises, the Houston Comets. With this move, Cathy Engelbert has overseen the return of the Comets to the WNBA fold after the unfortunate dispersal in 2008.
While the WNBA franchise will play out the 2026 season under the Connecticut Sun name and in Connecticut, the return of women’s basketball to the city of Houston will be complete before the 2027 season.
The Houston Comets were the WNBA’s first-ever dynasty, and remain the only franchise to win four consecutive Championships. The Houston Comets became a casualty of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, with the franchise owner, Hilton Koch, struggling to keep it profitable before folding.
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The dissolution also marked a unique Dispersal Draft within the WNBA, with the players being distributed to the other franchises through this special draft.
The move means, going forward into the 2027 season, the franchise will play its games at the Toyota Center and will be sharing training facilities with the NBA franchise, the Houston Rockets.
Houston’s name is almost synonymous with the WNBA, with the franchise boasting the first-ever signed WNBA player, the first-ever drafted star, and the first-ever league MVP in Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and Cynthia Cooper, respectively.
