Calling for local sports fans and investors to target the Connecticut Sun, a Boston City Council member says his “very excited” colleagues will “absolutely” approve his resolution Wednesday to support the presence of a professional women’s basketball team in Boston.
District 4 Councilor Brian Worrell tied his resolution to reports that the Sun, a franchise owned by the Mohegan Tribe, might be sold and the WNBA’s June 30 announcement that it is expanding later this decade with new teams based in Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia.
“I’m looking forward to having a women’s WNBA team that is as storied a franchise as the Celtics,” said Worrell, who represents Mattapan, Dorchester, and parts of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale and says he’s driven by a love of basketball. “I know we’re going to be starting late in the game, but I think that once we get the team there, we’re going to start making a storied franchise here in the city of Boston.”
The Sun play at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, but plan to host the Indiana Fever at TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday, July 15. Tickets for “nosebleed seats” are going for $200, Worrell said, demonstrating the market for a team here and the interest in bringing role models for girls and young women to the area.
“I know we have interested business groups in Boston that would welcome a chance to relocate the Connecticut Sun to Boston,” Worrell said in a statement promoting his resolution. “They’ve been New England’s team for two decades, but I think a spot in Boston would help them reach the audience they deserve. And with TD Garden, we have the facility right here in Boston to welcome a WNBA team.”
Asked about groups other than Boston Women’s Basketball Partners LLC that might be interested in purchasing the Sun, Worrell said, “I’ve heard of multiple ownership groups. I can’t give out like, you know, who are part of those ownership groups, but I’ve heard of multiple ownership groups.”
The Boston Globe reported over the weekend on one local group interested in bringing a team to Boston. That outfit believes the best way to do that will be through league expansion.
“Whether it takes five years or a couple of years, we’re committed to bringing a team to Boston,” AJ Gerritson, a spokesman for Boston Women’s Basketball Partners, told the Globe.
“In terms of the path forward for us, it looks more and more like it’s going to be expansion,” Gerritson said, according to the Globe. “And in terms of the expansion process, we weren’t able to submit a formal bid last time it was open purely because of timing. Since then, we have worked tirelessly to meet and exceed all standards for expansion.”
The WNBA is in its 29th season and growing. The three new teams will raise the total number of teams to 18 and mark the continuation of expansion plans. The NBA formed in 1949 and has 30 teams.
The Golden State Valkyries began playing in May, and expansion will reach Toronto and Portland, Oregon, in 2026. The Cleveland team will begin play in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030.
“I am aware that expansion right now is off the table, and that the WNBA announced three new teams through 2030 but we also are aware that the Connecticut Sun are for sale,” Worrell said. “And I think we need as much people pushing the franchise and the league to relocate the Connecticut Sun to Boston. Us being a sports town, being a sports city, and with so many people or groups out there that I know we can put together, we’re hoping we can get not only the league, the team, but a group of investors to make that happen in the market.”
The WNBA said each location was selected “based on an analysis of market viability, committed long-term ownership groups, potential for significant local fan, corporate, media, and city and state support, arena and practice facilities, and community commitment to advancing the sport, among other factors.”
“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a June 30 statement. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”
Gov. Maura Healey played on the women’s basketball team at Harvard College from 1988 to 1992 and was co-captain her senior year. After college, she played two years professionally as the starting point guard for the UBBC Wüstenrot Salzburg women’s basketball team in Austria.
In March, Healey said Boston should have a WNBA team.
“I’ve said that I’ll do anything I can as governor to support those efforts. I think there’s a great market and ton of interest here,” she said.
Worrell’s resolution cites “rumors” about the Sun relocating to Boston after “reportedly being placed for sale earlier this year.” If adopted Wednesday, the resolution would state that the Boston City Council “fully endorses any potential relocation of a WNBA franchise to Boston, where the city currently has enough existing facilities to host WNBA games, and has a fanbase that will welcome the team with open arms.”
