So why does it feel like the WNBA is throwing cold water on the party?<\/p>\n
The league\u2019s statement, as given to Washburn, is an absolute head-scratcher, putting the brakes on everything good about the potential sale, stifling so much remarkably positive news. Like a kid who doesn\u2019t want to be told what to do, the league would really rather take the ball and go home, ignoring the incredible boost this sale would mean for public perception, for Boston, for players, and for the current owners of the Sun? Just because it doesn\u2019t quite follow the normal expansion path?<\/p>\n
\u201cRelocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams,\u201d the statement opened, citing the June decision to award franchises to Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, cities that joined recent and future teams in Golden State, Toronto and Portland, Ore. As the statement pointed out, \u201cnine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and remain under active consideration,\u201d and that \u201cno groups from Boston applied for a team at that time.\u201d <\/p>\n
Using \u201cthe extensive work [those other cities] did as part of the expansion process\u201d as their defense, the league said all of them \u201chave priority over Boston.\u201d Words that make it clear Boston wouldn\u2019t be in their expansion mix until 2033 at the earliest.<\/p>\n
![\"Connecticut](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UMHLRJ257HPRZNT2PMLSWG44DI.jpg\")
Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers signs autographs before the Sun played the Indiana Fever at TD Garden on July 15.Heather Diehl\/For the Boston Globe<\/p>\n
But Boston isn\u2019t looking for an expansion team. This is a ready-made move from one New England state to another, a chance for the current ownership of the Sun to get out from under their financial problems, a chance to harness the incredible energy of two sold-out Sun games the past two seasons at TD Garden with a built-in fan base that already includes a supportive and enthusiastic governor<\/a>, who just happened to play college basketball herself. <\/p>\n And Pagliuca would reportedly pay $325 million, a record for a women\u2019s pro team? And contribute another $100 million toward a dedicated practice facility? What is the WNBA waiting for? <\/p>\n \u201cI know the quickest way to get a team to Boston is for the Sun to move to Boston, and I don\u2019t want to wait. I don\u2019t want Boston or New England to have to wait that long,\u201d Governor Maura Healey told the Globe. \u201cWe\u2019ve got an incredibly enthusiastic, energized base here that wants to see a \u2018W\u2019 team in Boston and to me this seems to be in everybody\u2019s best interests.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not as if the WNBA should be surprised. When the Sun hosted league favorite Indiana Fever (and Caitlin Clark) last month<\/a>, the topic of bringing a team to Boston<\/a> was at the forefront of every conversation, especially in light of the Mohegan Tribe\u2019s stated desire to sell. With Celtics star Jaylen Brown sitting courtside, players were unabashedly vocal about moving from Connecticut, where they don\u2019t have their own practice space nor an ownership group in position to build one, where a total roster teardown and rebuild has them at the bottom of the current standings.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it was up to me, we might relocate here,\u201d rookie guard Saniya Rivers said before the game. <\/p>\n \u201c[Boston is] a great city, has great food, great shops \u2014 I love to shop. So just being able to come to the neighboring city and just play here, I think it [does] a lot for women\u2019s basketball in general, you know, get some noise around here [and] get people supporting women\u2019s basketball. <\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, maybe they can advocate for us to, you know, maybe even relocate. I love Connecticut, it\u2019s fine, but I think the marketing here itself is just going to be better for a women\u2019s basketball program and I think we can make a lot of noise here starting tonight, so I\u2019m just excited to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n While Clark admitted to that game being her first trip to Boston, her professed love and admiration for the Celtics<\/a> said more than enough about Boston\u2019s bona fides, credentials Healey described as \u201cWe are the hub of New England and the place that basketball was invented. I think it makes a lot of sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow Fever guard Sophie Cunningham also endorsed the idea, saying, \u201cI like Boston, man. I really like Boston. Y\u2019all need to get a team here.\u201d<\/p>\n If only WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league\u2019s Board of Governors could see as clearly. <\/p>\n They should take the win. <\/p>\n This is a league facing labor strife<\/a> contentious enough that players wore matching \u201cPay Us What You Owe Us\u201d T-shirts at this year\u2019s All Star game. A league that continues to fight back <\/a>against persistent racial issues among some fan bases, with the treatment of the transcendent star Clark at the center of it. A league that has an obvious officiating problem, comparatively small rosters that are exceedingly hard to make, and rising injuries that are also a cause for concern. They\u2019ve fought for years over media rights, revenue sharing, and player safety, only recently allowing chartered air travel after players were harassed at local airports.<\/p>\n Boston wants in anyway, with the former Celtics owner Pagliuca ready to pay.<\/p>\n Hey WNBA, take the win.<\/p>\n Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at tara.sullivan@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @Globe_Tara<\/a>.<\/p>\n