The Connecticut Sun say they will move to Houston in 2027 after reaching an agreement to sell the team to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta in a deal worth a record $300 million, according to a person familiar with the sale.
The WNBA Board of Governors still needs to approve the sale and the move.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the sale.
The team will play in Connecticut for the upcoming season before moving to Houston and becoming the Comets again.
“I would have loved to remain in the region for our fan base and for the fact that I think this region deserves a women’s basketball team,” Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti told the AP. “At the same time, it wasn’t my decision and I’m at a point now where my focus turns to making this the best season we can have and a memorable one for our fans. It’s an opportunity to say thank you to them.”
This will end a 23-year run by the team in New England after the team moved to Connecticut from Orlando in 2003.
Houston was one of the groups that expressed interest in buying the team last year, eventually raising its bid to $250 million — the amount Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia paid for expansion fees. Now with the $300 million sale price, that’s the highest for which a team has been sold in WNBA history.
The Sun had an offer for $325 million from a group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that would have moved the franchise to Boston. The WNBA basically blocked that deal from happening by saying that “relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams.”
The league also went on to say that other teams had gone through the expansion process and had priority over Boston.
Connecticut lawmakers were unhappy to be losing the team, let alone for $25 million less than other offers.
“I am aware of concerning reports regarding a sale that would move the Sun out of Connecticut at a price far less than what was on the table to keep them here at home,” Connecticut attorney general William Tong said in a statement. “The Office of the Attorney General previously requested relevant documents and we have reviewed portions of certain documents requested of the WNBA. We are consulting with our partners in state government and local leaders regarding this disappointing news.”
The Sun will play two games in Hartford, Connecticut, and one in Boston this upcoming season.
“This decision has always sat at the ownership level and we worked hard as a front office to make us New England’s WNBA team,” Rizzotti said. “Playing and selling out two games in Boston shows this is a market that can support a team at a significant level.”
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during a news conference to announce the three new expansion teams that Houston was up next.
Since Mark Davis bought the Las Vegas Aces in 2021, the league has added new owners that have some sort of NBA tie. Golden State, which came into the league last season, is owned by the Warriors. Portland and Toronto are coming into the WNBA this season and the ownership groups are connected to NBA teams.
The next three expansion teams — Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — are all owned by NBA groups in those cities.
The WNBA just agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement last week where teams need to have top-notch facilities similar to those of NBA franchises.
Announcing the deal now allows the franchise to have clarity for potential free agents who could sign with the Sun next month.
“Morgan (Tuck) started last off season with the rebuild after our old roster turned over,” Rizzotti said of the Sun general manager. “She will now have clarity and strategic decisions regardless where it is if we remained in Connecticut or moving. With this new CBA in place, she can really evaluate the salary cap situation and build around the young core we established.”
The Houston Comets were one of the original franchises in the league that won the first four WNBA championships from 1997-2000. The franchise disbanded after the 2008 season.
“My family and I are thrilled for the opportunity to bring the Houston Comets back to this incredible city,” Rockets alternate governor Patrick Fertitta said. “Houston has a proud championship history in the WNBA, with banners from the Comets’ four historic championship seasons still hanging in the rafters of Toyota Center. We believe the time is right to begin the next great era of Comets basketball, and we look forward to working with the WNBA as we move through this process.”
The previous WNBA team to move cities was the Las Vegas Aces, who relocated from San Antonio in 2017.
“What I don’t want people to forget is the Mohegan Tribe stepped up when nobody wanted a WNBA team and there were NBA owners folding franchises left and right,” Rizzotti said. “I hope that regardless of people’s feelings around this, they’ll remember that we had a really supportive ownership group that poured into the franchise for over two decades.
“The decision they made now doesn’t erase the fact they were there for the WNBA in a time of need and kept them going when it wasn’t as popular as it is now to have a franchise.”
___
