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The landscape of the WNBA is changing quickly amid an evolving women’s sports culture and increased investment in the league. One of the ways we are seeing this is the way that teams are investing in player treatment.
From advanced recovery technology like stick-on patches to track electrolyte depletion, to chips in shoes that track running metrics and of course, state-of-the-art practice facilities, teams are racing to perform better than their peers. Or, most teams are, anyway. Some are still in a state of not wanting to invest in things like facilities with saunas and treatment rooms.
The result? A mass exodus from these teams to franchises that have the facilities (and money) to give top athletes what they want.
The Connecticut Sun have been at the forefront of this conversation for over a year. During the 2024 WNBA PLAYOFFS, it was revealed that the Sun were kicked out of their practice gym earlier than usual because the space had been rented out for a toddler’s birthday party. A championship-contending team was practicing in a community gym while other WNBA teams have private facilities with chefs and spa-like amenities.
As this race to be a free agency destination has forced other ownership groups to quickly draw up blueprints for fancy facilities, the Mohegan Sun (the tribe that owns the Sun) did not seem interested. The team’s less-than-glamorous home in Uncasville, Connecticut and home arena inside the Mohegan Sun casino complex was once standard fare, but was now starting to prevent them from being able to attract or retain talent.
So when the reports came out that the Connecticut Sun are now for sale, it wasn’t shocking. Per Sportico, the Sun have brought on investment bank Allen & Company to facilitate the potential sale. The same company will be facilitating the potential sale of the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA.
This is hardly surprising, given the ongoing criticism from players — most prominently Thomas, but others as well — about teams that lack dedicated facilities. Imagine watching your friends over in Vegas or Seattle practice in their gorgeous practice gyms and training rooms, meanwhile, you’re wrapping it up early for the Frozen-themed birthday party, waiting outside to set up their tables and chairs? For a while, the idea of winning a championship may have been reason to stick it out, but after the Sun spent half a decade being unable to get over the playoff hump despite making the semi-finals and finals every year… it was getting old.
While not 100% confirmed, it seemed like Unrivaled may have been the final push for some of Connecticut’s stars to decide they were done with this treatment (or lack of). The start-up league founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier boasted a competitive salary and an on-site esthetician, along with a whole facility of state-of-the-art equipment and recovery technology. On top of that, the players surely had a chance to talk and compare notes on how this treatment compared to what they were getting with their WNBA teams.
The result? Connecticut lost their entire starting lineup as the result of free agency signings and trades, PLUS lost their esteemed head coach Steph White to her hometown Indiana Fever. Alyssa Thomas went to the Phoenix Mercury (facilities: check), DeWanna Bonner went to the Indiana Fever (double check), DiJonai Carrington and Ty Harris went to the Dallas Wings (working on it), Brionna Jones went to the Atlanta Dream (working on it). Marina Mabrey was left in Uncasville, requested a trade herself, and was denied.
If WNBA owners cannot or simply do not want to invest in the growth of their team to keep up with the growth of the league, these are the options they have: Keep the team and have a bunch of miserable players, not be able to attract free agents, never win a championship… or sell.
Based on these reports, it seems likely that the Mohegan Sun will sell the team, and then the team will be moved out of Connecticut. Disappointing to a state with a ton of rich women’s basketball culture, a lot due to the longtime success of the UConn women’s program. Yet, it seems a little inevitable when you are competing with teams in markets like New York City, Los Angeles, the Bay Area and eventually Toronto and Portland, among others. If I am choosing which lottery-level WNBA team I am going to play for, am I choosing the team in Uncasville or the team in lively, fun, beautiful Toronto? You don’t have to be a biased Torontonian like me to answer that easily.
This could also be the answer to a potential expansion team’s desire to bring a team to their city. The league has way fewer potential expansion teams than there are interested parties, and buying a team to relocate it is a workaround. The obvious first answer is moving the team to Boston, as the franchise already has a connection to the city and has held games there in the past. There is a growing women’s sports culture in Boston as well, with the PWHL’s Boston Fleet and the incoming Boston Legacy FC in the NWSL.
Other options are the bid by Candace Parker and others to bring a WNBA team to Nashville. The proposed team would be named the Tennessee Summit after the legendary Tennessee Coach Pat Summit, who passed in 2016 from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. There is also interest in bringing a W team to Philadelphia and Denver, as well as reviving folded WNBA teams like the Houston Comets, Detroit Shock, Cleveland Rockers or Charlotte Sting.
For now, things are business as usual in Connecticut. This sale comes at a time when investment in the WNBA is at an all-time high. It was widely publicized in 2024 that the going price for a WNBA team bid was $50 million when Larry Tannenbaum secured the bid to bring the Toronto Tempo into the league. Per Sportico, the Las Vegas Aces were ranked No. 1 in the league’s Franchise Valuations at $140 million. The Atlanta Dream ranked last at $55 million, while the Connecticut Sun sit tied at the ninth spot, valued at $80 million. In 2003, when the Mohegan Tribe moved the team from Orlando to Uncasville, they paid $10 million.
