Celtics minority owner reaches deal to buy Connecticut Sun for record $325M US, move team to Boston: reports

A group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca has reached a deal to buy the Connecticut Sun for a record $325 million US and move the team to Boston, according to a person familiar with the sale.

The franchise wouldn't play in Boston until the 2027 season. Pagliuca also would contribute $100 million for a new practice facility in Boston for the team, the person said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Saturday because the deal hasn't been publicly announced. The sale is pending approval of the league and its Board of Governors.

"Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams," the league said in a statement.

The Sun have played one regular season game at TD Garden each of the last two years, including one against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in July.

The league has announced five expansion teams that will begin play over the next five seasons with Portland (2026), Toronto (2026), Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) joining the WNBA. Each paid a then-record $250 million expansion fee.

Nine other cities bid for expansion teams, including Houston, which the league singled out as getting a team in the future when it announced Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia in June. Boston did not.

"No groups from Boston applied for a team at that time and those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston. Celtics' prospective ownership team has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time."

The Boston Globe first reported the sale.

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