Just following up on a couple of items, which I didn’t catch in the original post. From ESPN:
The WNBA board of governors still needs to approve the sale and the move. The Sun are being sold for a record $300 million, sources told ESPN.
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, Florida, in 2003.
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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.
“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.
[…]
The last WNBA team to move cities was the 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.”
I feel for the Sun fans, because it sucks to lose a team. I wish them all well this season, and I hope both the team and the fans have a chance to say goodbye. The original Comets just folded with no notice, so at least they will have that.
The Athletic has more on the behind-the-scenes stuff.
Though it played in one of the WNBA’s smallest markets, the Sun had consistent success. They made the WNBA Finals twice and the semifinals four times from 2019 through 2024. In all, they made four WNBA Finals appearances.
“The Connecticut Sun organization understands how emotional this moment is for our fans and community,” team president Jen Rizzotti said in a statement. “You have made a home for this franchise for generations, and we are grateful for the passion and support that made us a cornerstone team in the WNBA. While the league continues to grow and evolve, our commitment is to honor this legacy — and finishing this final season together with pride.”
The Sun had put themselves up for sale last spring and had two interested buyers. Steve Pagliuca, a Boston Celtics minority owner, offered to pay $325 million for the franchise and ultimately move the team to Boston. The WNBA refused to approve the deal. Marc Lasry, the former Milwaukee Bucks owner, was willing to pay the same amount and move the Sun to Hartford. The league also blanched at that, even though both would have set a record for a WNBA-control team sale.
“They have every right to sell the team in their market,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit in September. “But then we started to be contacted by people in Boston and elsewhere saying that there was a suggestion that they could buy a team in one market and take it to another. That’s sort of black-letter law in sports leagues: You can’t do that. You’re buying that market. Teams have different values in different markets, and we view those other markets as expansion markets.”
The Rockets, however, got permission to move the franchise to Houston. The Fertitta family and the city tried to obtain an expansion club last year but missed out to Toronto and Portland. At the time, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Houston would be the next to receive a team. While the Tribe was in a standoff with the WNBA about selling the Sun, the league made it clear to ownership that they could sell the team to Tilman Fertitta and let him move it to Houston, league sources said at the time.
This earlier ESPN story from last December when it was confirmed that Tilman Fertitta was pursuing the purchase explains it simply that the two other would-be buyers needed to go through the process of applying for an expansion team first, which Houston had done. It was because they made their offer on the assumption of a move without already having been cleared to have a franchise in their cities that they were rejected. Bad for them, good for us.
The existing team has some talent despite its lousy record last year, but they are in a rebuilding mode. The upcoming draft should help, and with the agreement on the new CBA the Comets-to-be will be able to spend some money to lure more talent here. It’s an exciting time.
It’s still too early to actually buy tickets for next year, but fans can go to HoustonComets.com and put down a $99 deposit per seat, which reserves a place in line for the opportunity to purchase season tickets when they’re available. When it’s time to buy tickets, the deposit can go toward the final purchase. However, the deposit is non-refundable, so if you change your mind and elect not to buy season tickets, the money may be applied toward other available ticket options. Fans are limited to a maximum of four seats per account.
Houston WNBA merchandise also is available on the team site, although for now it’s just apparel with generic Houston and WNBA markings on it and not the actual Comets branding.
I recommend waiting until there’s official merch. But go ahead and sign up for tickets if you want to.