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Boston landing a WNBA team isn’t a done deal yet. But Mayor Michelle Wu says the city is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Speaking in Charlestown on Monday, Wu reacted to the news that Boston Celtics minority chairman Steve Pagliuca has made an offer to purchase the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun with the possibility of the team moving to TD Garden.
Wu said the move would be “exciting” for the city. However, she pointed out that there are still some hoops to jump through.
“I know this is a decision that sits with the WNBA themselves and the league,” Wu said. ”But the city of Boston is ready to do whatever we could to welcome them.”
News broke Saturday that Pagliuca had agreed to a deal with the Mohegan Tribe to purchase the Sun. However, the WNBA later came out to clarify that it may not be that simple.
In a statement to The Athletic, the WNBA noted that “relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams.” The statement also pointed out that Boston did not submit a bid for a WNBA franchise during its recent expansion efforts.
Wu noted how “it is so powerful” when Boston’s sports teams make an impact in the community, and that adding a WNBA team would further those efforts in the city.
“This would mean just a filling of a gap that I think the city feels very much that we don’t have a WNBA team in the city of champions,” Wu said. “And also it would just be really important for our young people and the mentorship and the excitement that that would provide. So we are eagerly hoping that the process steps might go this way because this is something that Boston needs.”
According to the Boston Globe, Pagliuca’s group has agreed to pay $325 million to purchase the Sun and is set to provide another $100 million to move the team.
Pagliuca was one of the top bidders in contention to purchase the Celtics when the Wyc Grousbeck group decided to sell the team. However, Pagliuca was passed over as a group led by Bill Chisholm bought the deal in a $6.1 million deal.
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