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Mohegan Selling WNBA Connecticut Sun to Executive Linked to Inspire Casino Disaster

After more than 20 years of ownership, the Mohegan Tribe has sought a buyer for its Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) club.

According to reports, Steve Pagliuca, the wealthy and well-known Bain Capital investor and minority owner of the Boston Celtics in the NBA, has agreed to pay $325 million to the Mohegan Tribe to purchase the Connecticut Sun.  The deal would be the largest ever for a professional women's sports franchise if it is authorized by the WNBA Board of Governors and WNBA owners.

Pagliuca intends to move the Sun to Boston from Uncasville, the Connecticut tribe's casino resort destination.  The league's Board of Governors must vote in favor of the franchise's move, but club owners must consent to Pagliuca becoming an owner.

With the Celtics, NFL New England Patriots, MLB Boston Red Sox, NHL Boston Bruins, and MLS New England Revolution, the Massachusetts capital is a sports fanatic, therefore Boston makes sense for the WNBA.

Pagliuca would spend $100 million on a WNBA practice facility if the purchase were to go through.  TD Garden would serve as the home court for the WNBA Boston club.

Over the previous two years, the Sun have played two sold-out games at the Celtics' floor.  Last month, the Sun sold out TD Garden in a matchup with the Indiana Fever and the most popular player in the sport, Caitlin Clark.

Sale of Sun Fire

Casino.org revealed in May that the Mohegan Tribe was raising money by selling its WNBA team.  The federally recognized tribe's latest multibillion-dollar wager on South Korea was a huge failure, despite decades of success in both tribal and commercial gambling across North America.

A $275 million loan associated with Mohegan's Inspire Entertainment Resort development at Incheon International Airport was in default.  In February, the casino resort was taken over by the lender, Pagliuca's Bain.

According to reports, Bain Capital has nothing to do with the Connecticut Sun deal.  According to reports, Pagliuca is buying the WNBA team by himself.

It was no secret that Mohegan wanted to get rid of the Sun as soon as possible.  Nevertheless, the tribe was able to field a WNBA organization with an extraordinary offer.

With a $140 million valuation, Sportico claims that the Las Vegas Aces are the most valuable WNBA franchise.  However, with interest in the women's basketball league at an all-time high and the so-called "Caitlin Clark effect," astute investors like Pagliuca are speculating that more growth is in store.

WNBA Growth

The WNBA will grow in the upcoming years, adding teams in Philadelphia (2030), Detroit (2029), and Cleveland (2028).  The WNBA received a one-time payment of $250 million from the owners of the three expansion teams.

The WNBA has had phenomenal growth in recent years.

In 2021, the Atlanta Dream was purchased for less than $10 million by an investment group headed by Larry Gottesdiener.  According to reports, Mark Davis, owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, paid MGM Resorts $2 million for the WNBA Las Vegas Aces that same year.  Since then, Tom Brady has acquired a minority share in the Aces.

When the owners of the NBA Orlando Magic decided to stop operating the WNBA Orlando Miracle, Mohegan paid $10 million for the Sun in 2003.