rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
Like Pagliuca’s, Lasry’s bid also includes construction of a new training facility.
The Hartford Courant was first to report news of Lasry wanting to move the team to Hartford.
All the uncertainty has placed Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti in the delicate position of knowing the team is being sold, but that it may also be on the move.
With both decisions in the hands of the league, as well as the Mohegan Sun owners to a certain extent, Rizzotti diplomatically weighed the pros and cons.
“I’m a Connecticut girl, so I’ve always been super appreciative of the state and the passionate and knowledgeable supporters of women’s basketball,” said Rizzotti. “[But] if there was an opportunity for the team to go somewhere where the players would find exciting, and think they have marketing and brand opportunities, and that these young players in the league want the excitement of a major market and a big city — as a professional, if there was an opportunity to be able to provide that to my players, that would be something that I would prefer.
“So I kind of get torn, right?”
That the WNBA is in growth mode is a positive. How and where it grows is a work in progress.
“It’s important that the league continues to grow and have the success that it’s had,” she said. “I can’t predict if that should be in Connecticut or Boston, or somewhere else, but I just know that my preference, professionally, is that you give them the best chance to be successful on the court.”
Rizzotti hopes a sale can be completed before WNBA free agency begins in January, so she can “have some clarity for our fans, for our staff, and our players, to be able to let them know what the future holds.”
Further proof of how complicated and perhaps contentious this transaction is turning out to be arrived Monday night. Front Office Sports reported the Mohegan Tribe agreed to Pagliuca’s bid in early July, and while WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was aware of the deal, it was not presented to the league’s board of governors.
A month later, the exclusivity window Pagliuca’s group had with the Tribe expired, leaving Pagliuca’s and Lasry’s groups among at least four believed to have placed bids to buy the team.
In a statement to the Globe, the Mohegan Tribe said: “Mohegan Leadership continues to run their process of looking at different avenues of investment opportunities for the CT Sun. We are excited with the growth of the WNBA and women’s basketball, and are committed to outcomes that are the best for the CT Sun, the Mohegan Tribe, and the WNBA.”
It declined comment on specifics surrounding bidders or new investors, citing “non-disclosure terms” with any sale or relocation agreement.
Staying in-state certainly seems to be the preference of the WNBA, which has reportedly targeted 2033 for possible expansion to Boston. And while the Tribe has agreed to the Pagliuca deal, a WNBA source told the Globe over the weekend that if the league tells it to keep the team in Connecticut, the Tribe will do so.
On Sunday, Pagliuca acknowledged that his agreement with the Sun is not a done deal without the league’s approval.
“This approval has not been obtained thus far, and we cannot proceed without it,” read part of a statement from PagsGroup. “We will respect, cooperate with, and abide by all league rules and decisions on these matters.”
Lasry and his sister, Sophia Gardner, co-founded Avenue Capital Group, which has more than $11 billion in assets under management. The siblings both graduated from Clark University in Worcester.
Lasry sold his 25 percent stake in the Bucks when the team was valued at $3.2 billion, according to Sportico. He has since begun investing in assorted sports entities, including as part of Strategic Sports Group alongside Red Sox and Boston Globe Media Partners owner John Henry.
Along with the NBA’s Steph Curry, Lasry co-owns the San Francisco franchise of TGL, the indoor golf league that kicks off its second season this winter. He also owns the New York Mavericks of the Professional Bull Riding League.
Investors in Avenue Capital Group’s Sports Fund include ex-WNBA star Candace Parker, ex-NWSL and US international soccer star Lauren Holiday (wife of former Celtics guard Jrue Holiday), and skier Lindsey Vonn.
Hartford mayor Arunan Arulampalam made Boston sound like a Jenny-come-lately about its desire to have a WNBA team.
“Basketball is in Connecticut’s blood, and folks around here aren’t going to let the Sun go without a fight,” said Arulampalam to the Courant. “We have won almost 10 times as many basketball championships as Boston has over the past three decades, and we didn’t just get into women’s basketball when Caitlin Clark entered the league.”
Representatives of Lasry did not immediately return requests from the Globe for comment.
Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.
