{"id":129424,"date":"2025-09-03T10:01:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T10:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/129424\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T10:01:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T10:01:07","slug":"ct-lit-the-spark-now-wnba-must-stop-playing-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/129424\/","title":{"rendered":"CT lit the spark. Now WNBA must stop playing games."},"content":{"rendered":"

When I wrote in June that Hartford had a chance to save the Connecticut Sun and revive our city<\/a>, it was a warning shot. I argued then that this wasn\u2019t just about basketball \u2014 it was about civic pride, economic growth, and whether Connecticut had the imagination to seize a rare major-league opportunity.<\/p>\n

Two months later, that spark has spread. Gov. Ned Lamont is lobbying the NBA. Comptroller Sean Scanlon is blasting the WNBA for blocking deals. And just last week, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam stood outside a newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena and declared that it was time for the people to fight back.<\/p>\n

Hartford bid to purchase Connecticut Sun undeterred by reported lack of support from WNBA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Make no mistake: the politicians are now echoing what fans have been saying all summer. Connecticut is ready, the offers are real, and the only obstacle standing in the way is the WNBA itself.<\/p>\n

The bids are there. The problem is the league.<\/p>\n

Two separate groups have come forward with bids north of $325 million \u2014 Steve Pagliuca in Boston and Marc Lasry here in Hartford.<\/a> Both are serious. Both are financed. And in Hartford\u2019s case, the state has pledged to cover the cost of a modern practice facility \u2014 the one legitimate gap between us and the Boston bid.<\/p>\n

The Mohegan Tribe has done its part, too. After 22 years of ownership, they are willing to sell and even prefer a deal that keeps the team in-state. The offers are real. The desire is real. The infrastructure is real.<\/p>\n

So why are we stuck? Because the WNBA and its NBA overseers want more than a sale price. They want a relocation fee on top \u2014 pushing the deal toward $400 million or more \u2014 and they want the team in a larger NBA-aligned market. Translation: Houston, not Hartford.<\/p>\n

Connecticut deserves better<\/p>\n

This state has been more than a host. Connecticut kept the WNBA alive when no one else would. The Mohegan Tribe<\/a> bought the failing Orlando Miracle in 2002, invested when it wasn\u2019t fashionable, and built one of the league\u2019s most consistent franchises. The Sun hosted All-Star Games when others wouldn\u2019t. They hosted drafts, ran youth clinics, and kept the league visible during leaner years.<\/p>\n

Our fans \u2014 led by UConn Nation \u2014 filled the seats. This season, even as the team struggled on the court, the Sun sold out season tickets for the first time in franchise history and averaged their highest-ever attendance. That\u2019s not failure. That\u2019s proof.<\/p>\n

CT leaders want Connecticut Sun to stay in state. Here\u2019s what\u2019s being said<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

If the Sun leave, it won\u2019t be because Connecticut couldn\u2019t support them. It will be because the league decided that the business of expansion mattered more than the loyalty of fans who carried women\u2019s basketball for decades.<\/p>\n

A call for honesty<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what needs to happen now. First, the WNBA must be transparent. Stop pretending this is about Hartford\u2019s ability to support a franchise. Stop hiding behind technicalities about expansion bids. The truth is simple: the league wants money and NBA-market alignment. Say it plainly, and let the state, the investors, and the fans decide if the price is worth it.<\/p>\n

Second, if the WNBA is determined to move the team, Connecticut deserves legacy terms. That means a commitment to award the next realistic expansion franchise to an in-state group, annual showcase games in Hartford, and a partnership with UConn and youth programs that built this sport long before it was fashionable.<\/p>\n

And finally, if the door is open \u2014 even a crack \u2014 give us the number. Publish the relocation fee. Tell us the conditions. Don\u2019t leave fans and officials fighting in the dark while the league maneuvers behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

The people are paying attention<\/p>\n

Something new has happened in Connecticut politics. This isn\u2019t just backroom lobbying anymore. Leaders are holding press conferences, urging residents to flood the league with calls and messages. They\u2019re naming the interference for what it is: anti-competitive behavior.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t happen by accident. It happened because the people of this state \u2014 fans, writers, citizens \u2014 raised their voices first. The spark was lit here. And now even our highest officials are echoing the urgency.<\/p>\n

The question is whether the WNBA will listen, or whether they\u2019ve already made up their mind.<\/p>\n

If the answer is yes, set the terms and let Connecticut rise to the challenge. If the answer is no, say it clearly, honor what this state built, and move on.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t insult our intelligence by pretending this is about our market. We\u2019ve proven ourselves for 23 years. Connecticut is the basketball capital. And the WNBA should either respect that \u2014 or admit it never mattered.<\/p>\n

Gregory Johnson is a Hartford native and the author of \u201cSave the Sun, revive the city. Why Hartford must fight for the WNBA\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I wrote in June that Hartford had a chance to save the Connecticut Sun and revive our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[20395,82125,55308,402,82128,8731,82129,17590,2000,28146,49683,25028,101,82121,299,6211,82123,82126,15862,6755,82130,82132,3729,82137,82124,15061,82122,82133,82127,4322,7240,82120,2392,99,1608,82131,82135,82136,434,44257,82134],"class_list":["post-129424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-arena","tag-arunan-arulampalam","tag-bars","tag-basketball","tag-bears-bbq","tag-boston","tag-capital-grille","tag-center","tag-connecticut","tag-courant","tag-ct","tag-downtown","tag-economy","tag-fight-for-it","tag-food","tag-future","tag-gov-ned-lamont","tag-hartford-arena","tag-hartford-courant","tag-hockey","tag-infinity-hall","tag-jen-rizzoti","tag-local","tag-marc-lasry","tag-matt-ritter","tag-mayor","tag-mohegan","tag-officials","tag-peoplesbank","tag-restaurants","tag-sale","tag-save-it","tag-speaker","tag-sports","tag-sun","tag-tribe","tag-uconn-games","tag-whalers","tag-wnba","tag-wolf-pack","tag-xfinity-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}