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UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT – MAY 15: Signage honoring the final season of the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena on May 15, 2026 in Uncasville, Connecticut. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Joe Buglewicz\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
During the Connecticut Sun<\/a>\u2019s inaugural season in 2003, the franchise decided to bring its show to the state\u2019s capital and host a game in Hartford. The goal back then was simple: introduce more people to the Sun and get the state excited about having a WNBA team.<\/p>\n Twenty-three years later, the Sun return to Hartford with a new goal \u2013 to help fans, and the state, appreciate what it has until it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Connecticut will relocate to Houston next year. The 2026 season is its last before team is rebranded, packed up, and shipped off to a new state. Despite showing off the depth of its New England fan base with back-to-back sold-out games at Boston\u2019s TD Garden<\/a>, attempts to keep the Sun in Connecticut and in New England were ultimately thwarted by the WNBA.<\/p>\n Instead of focusing on building for seasons to come, these last 44 regular-season games, including 22 home games, have become an extended farewell tour as the franchise looks to celebrate its history and its fans at every chance.<\/p>\n Such is the plan Saturday when the Sun (1-8) return to Hartford for the first time in 23 years to host Los Angeles (6 p.m. on NBC Sports Boston) \u2013 one of two games Connecticut will play at PeoplesBank Arena this summer. On July 2, Connecticut will host its last-ever game in Hartford when former UConn women\u2019s basketball<\/a> stars Paige Bueckers<\/a> and Azzi Fudd<\/a> return with the Dallas Wings.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make CT Insider a preferred source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n This year\u2019s Hartford games have been in the works for just under a year, even before Connecticut\u2019s relocation news became official. While the eventual move changes the tone of the season, getting the chance to bring the team on the road, even if it\u2019s just a 50-minute drive north, brings excitement.<\/p>\n Connecticut Sun Fan Fest on Pratt Street<\/p>\n Date: Saturday, May 30<\/p>\n Price: Free<\/p>\n Location: Pratt Street across from PeoplesBank Arena<\/p>\n Time: 2 – 5 p.m. Doors to PeoplesBank Arena will open at 5 p.m. ahead of the Sun’s 6 p.m. game against Los Angeles<\/p>\n The Sun will be celebrating its return to Hartford with a Fan Fest block party on Pratt Street ahead of its game against the Los Angeles Sparks at PeoplesBank Arena. The game marks the first WNBA game hosted in Hartford since 2003, when the Sun defeated the Charlotte Sting, 74-70,\u00a0 at Hartford Civic Center on July 26 in its inaugural season.<\/p>\n Saturday’s pregame Fan Fest will include:<\/p>\n Exclusive merch drop: Campus Customs pop-up featuring a limited-edition Connecticut Sun x Hartford t-shirt<\/p>\n Live DJ set: DJ WhyNot performing from the Bloom Bake Shop balcony<\/p>\n Coca-Cola Fan Zone Truck: Free Coke and Fanta ice cream floats<\/p>\n Basketball activations: In partnership with Hartford Parks & Recreation<\/p>\n Live art installation: Custom window art by local artist Jillian Goeler<\/p>\n \u201cThrough the Generations\u201d CT Sun activation celebrating the team\u2019s legacy and fan connections<\/p>\n Live entertainment: Double Dutch performances and appearances from the Sun’s Shine Squad<\/p>\n Community experiences:<\/p>\n Professional barber pop-up for Sun-themed hair styles Photo moments & food:<\/p>\n Roaming photo booth Krista May, the Sun\u2019s VP of business operations, and her staff have experience picking up and moving the team after hosting games in Boston<\/a> in both 2024 and 2025. This year, with two games in Hartford and one more in Boston, she hopes to make these games everlasting memories for both the fans and the team.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThey deserve a full arena, they deserve people cheering for them,\u201d May told CT Insider. \u201c\u2026 We want it to be loud. We want them to feel loved. The coaching staff, this basketball staff, the business staff, the players; they all love this so much that having people there and showing the support is just going to mean so, so, so much.\u201d<\/p>\n What still stands out the most to Chris Sienko, the Sun\u2019s first general manager, was the sheer depth of basketball talent on the floor that summer day inside the Hartford Civic Center when the Sun hosted the now-defunct Charlotte Sting on July 26, 2003, in its first-ever Hartford game.<\/p>\n Connecticut won 74-70 thanks to 23 points from former UConn great Nykesha Sales. Dawn Staley and Allison Feaster, mom of current UConn star Sarah Strong<\/a>, combined for 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Charlotte. Sun starters Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Brooke Wyckoff and Katie Douglass scored a combined 23 points and 18 rebounds. While Rebecca Lobo, in her final season in the WNBA, came off the bench for the Sun.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fans in Hartford got a legitimately great game that night,\u201d wrote Sienko in an email to CT Insider.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Yet, Sun never returned to Hartford.<\/p>\n While the reception was positive and successfully introduced more people to the WNBA, it also affirmed that what\u00a0Sienko and his staff were building down in Uncasville was special. There was no need to uproot what was just beginning at Mohegan Sun Arena, especially since the casino boasted amenities that Hartford did not, such as free parking.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nRefuge Tattoo shop activation with temporary tattoos<\/p>\n
\nConnecticut Sun\u2013themed ice cream
\nFresh kettle corn
\nBalloon arch and fan-friendly installations throughout<\/p>\n