{"id":567011,"date":"2026-03-28T17:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/567011\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T17:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:45:13","slug":"new-connecticut-sun-owner-reveals-stunning-plans-for-wnba-team-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/567011\/","title":{"rendered":"New Connecticut Sun owner reveals stunning plans for WNBA team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tillman Fertitta is taking over the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/category\/wnba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WNBA\u2019s;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;WNBA\u2019s&quot;}\" class=\"link \">WNBA\u2019s<\/a> Connecticut Sun, but the franchise\u2019s future is quite murky after the new owner\u2019s investment indicates a move out of state.<\/p>\n<p>Connecticut has been a WNBA staple for nearly two decades after the organization moved from Orlando in 2003. However, Fertitta and his family have new intentions for the franchise as they plan to move forward.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/wnba-players-association-agree-historic-collective-bargaining-agreement\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WNBA, Players\u2019 Association agree to historic CBA after long battle;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;WNBA, Players\u2019 Association agree to historic CBA after long battle&quot;}\" class=\"link \">WNBA, Players\u2019 Association agree to historic CBA after long battle<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MAVoepel\/status\/2037699151924973698?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:ESPN\u2019s Alexa Phillippou;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;ESPN\u2019s Alexa Phillippou&quot;}\" class=\"link \">ESPN\u2019s Alexa Phillippou<\/a> has indicated that the Fertitta family is moving the Sun to Houston. The new team reportedly will become the Houston Comets as they share the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/category\/nba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NBA;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;NBA&quot;}\" class=\"link \">NBA<\/a> market with the city\u2019s Rockets.<\/p>\n<p>The Comets were an original WNBA franchise that won four straight championships from 1997 to 2000. However, the team folded eight years later despite its incredible success with notable women\u2019s basketball stars like Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson.<\/p>\n<p>Back in December 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z6upyQJwks\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:an ESPN report;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;an ESPN report&quot;}\" class=\"link \">an ESPN report<\/a> emerged indicating that Houston was a likely destination for the Sun. However, it appears that the plan is now coming to fruition after Connecticut\u2019s long-time tenure comes to an abrupt end.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert revealed last June that Houston could be a prime market for the league\u2019s expansion. The situation became murky though in July after a reported $325 million deal for the Sun to sell to Boston Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca fell through.<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/womens-basketball-star-angel-reese-on-the-cover-of-vogue-australia\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WNBA star Angel Reese stuns on Vogue Australia cover;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;WNBA star Angel Reese stuns on Vogue Australia cover&quot;}\" class=\"link \">WNBA star Angel Reese stuns on Vogue Australia cover<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, other cities like Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia are all set for their own WNBA expansion projects after paying roughly $250 million for franchise rights.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1f6932ddfb5c7e08fa7d1396d60bfffe.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Prior to moving to Connecticut after the 2002 season, the Orlando Miracle debuted for the first four WNBA seasons. The league originated in 1999 and has now been running for nearly 28 seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp; trending stories on The Big Lead;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp;amp&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp; trending stories on The Big Lead <\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n<p>MARCH MADNESS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/2026-sweet-16-tv-schedule-gate-times-dates-for-ncaa-tournament\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2026 Sweet 16 TV schedule, game times &amp; dates for NCAA Tournament;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;2026 Sweet 16 TV schedule, game times &amp;amp&quot;}\" class=\"link \">2026 Sweet 16 TV schedule, game times &amp; dates for NCAA Tournament<\/a><\/p>\n<p>MLB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/predicting-the-winner-of-every-mlb-game-on-friday-march-27th-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Predicting the winner of every MLB game on Friday, March 27, 2026;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Predicting the winner of every MLB game on Friday, March 27, 2026&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Predicting the winner of every MLB game on Friday, March 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>NFL: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/nfl-pushes-back-tom-bradys-sensational-return-football\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NFL pushes back Tom Brady\u2019s sensational return to football;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;NFL pushes back Tom Brady\u2019s sensational return to football&quot;}\" class=\"link \">NFL pushes back Tom Brady\u2019s sensational return to football<\/a><\/p>\n<p>SPORTS MEDIA: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/sweet-16-announcer-pairings-tv-schedule-2026-ncaa-tournament\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sweet 16 announcer pairings &amp; TV schedule for 2026 NCAA Tournament;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Sweet 16 announcer pairings &amp;amp&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Sweet 16 announcer pairings &amp; TV schedule for 2026 NCAA Tournament<\/a><\/p>\n<p>ENTERTAINMENT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/2026-iheartradio-music-awards-winners-taylor-swift-full-list\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards winners, Taylor Swift leads full list;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards winners, Taylor Swift leads full list&quot;}\" class=\"link \">2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards winners, Taylor Swift leads full list<\/a><\/p>\n<p>VIRAL: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-tower-over-olympic-champ-alysa-liu-photo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce tower over 5-foot-3 Olympic champ Alysa Liu;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce tower over 5-foot-3 Olympic champ Alysa Liu&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce tower over 5-foot-3 Olympic champ Alysa Liu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tillman Fertitta is taking over the WNBA\u2019s Connecticut Sun, but the franchise\u2019s future is quite murky after the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[9001,724,732,1222,49,48,3458,218351,1443,46470,218352,115871,82,154767,12659,630,31161],"class_list":["post-567011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-aaliyah-edwards","tag-angel-reese","tag-atlanta-dream","tag-boston-celtics","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-connecticut-sun","tag-fertitta-family","tag-houston","tag-houston-comets","tag-orlando-miracle","tag-players-association","tag-sports","tag-tillman-fertitta","tag-travis-kelce","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-franchise"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}