Connecticut Solar could possibly be transferring to Boston by 2027 [Report]

The Connecticut Solar could possibly be transferring to Boston by 2027, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reported on Saturday afternoon. The Mohegan Solar tribe — the crew’s present possession group — has agreed to promote the crew to a bunch led by Steve Pagliuca, who has been one of many minority house owners of the Boston Celtics since 2002.

Pagliuca hoped to buy the Celtics this previous yr from fellow proprietor Wyc Grousbeck, however one other possession group, led by Invoice Chisholm, was chosen. Now, the longtime Boston sports activities proprietor could possibly be bringing ladies’s basketball to Boston.

Per the Globe, Pagliuca has agreed to pay a document $325 million for the crew, and likewise contribute $100 million for a brand new follow facility in Boston. That’s the very best value ever paid for an expert ladies’s sports activities crew. (For reference, Pagliuca and the opposite Celtics house owners buy the Celtics for $360 million in 2002).

The Solar don’t at present have their very own follow facility in Uncasville, Connecticut, the place the crew is at present primarily based.

The WNBA may block the Solar’s transfer to Boston

An vital word is that the sale nonetheless must be accredited by the WNBA and the league’s governor, and based on a Globe supply, the WNBA would fairly save Boston as a possible enlargement metropolis in 2033.

The WNBA launched the next assertion to the Boston Globe: “Relocation choices are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and never by particular person groups. As a part of our most up-to-date enlargement course of, by which three new franchises had been awarded to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia on June 30, 2025, 9 extra cities additionally utilized for WNBA groups and stay beneath energetic consideration. No teams from Boston utilized for a crew at the moment and people different cities stay into consideration primarily based on the in depth work they did as a part of the enlargement course of and at present have precedence over Boston. Celtics’ potential proprietor Invoice Chisholm has additionally reached out to the league workplace and requested that Boston obtain robust consideration for a WNBA franchise on the acceptable time.”

The WNBA is amid main enlargement

Because it at present stands, there are 13 groups within the WNBA, with the Golden State Valkyries being this yr’s enlargement crew. Subsequent season, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Hearth will be a part of the league, whereas Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia are all set to get their very own groups over the subsequent 5 years.

The Solar have performed two common season video games at TD Backyard in Boston — final yr in opposition to the Los Angeles Sparks and this yr in opposition to the Indiana Fever — and each video games had been offered out. Celtics gamers attended each video games.

After final yr’s sport between the Sparks and the Solar, then-Solar star DiJonai Carrington gushed concerning the ambiance.

“It felt nice,” Carrington stated. “It felt like each sport ought to really feel like.”

The Connecticut Solar have lengthy been one of many WNBA’s premier groups, however they’re at present in a rebuilding season and have a league-worst 5-21 document.

Pagliuca has reportedly been hoping to convey a WNBA crew to Boston for years, one thing that Governor Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu have each been vocal about. Michael Carter-Williams and Donnie Wahlberg had been additionally beforehand working to convey a crew to Boston, both by way of sale or WNBA enlargement.

The Mohegan Tribe has already knowledgeable ticket-holders the crew will play in Uncasville for the 2026 season, however this transfer positions the crew for a Boston relocation in 2027, as long as the WNBA approves the transaction.

This story shall be up to date as extra data is obtainable.