Expansion and relocation remain ever-present parts of the WNBA’s rolodex of quirks and tricks. The former has become increasingly common in recent seasons, with San Francisco, Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Detroit all having or landing franchises in the near future.

On Saturday, another city appeared destined to receive similar treatment. Boston, known for chowder, baked beans, and raucous sports fans, could be in line for another professional sports franchise in the coming few years.

Such a move would come at the expense of another Northeast city: Uncasville, Conn., home of the Connecticut Sun.

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Here’s what you need to know.

Connecticut Sun sale, explained

Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca agreed to purchase Connecticut’s WNBA franchise for $325 million on Saturday, per the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. Pagliuca will shell out funds to the franchise’s previous owners, the Mohegan Tribe. He is reportedly planning to relocate the Sun to Boston by 2027.

Connecticut’s sale fee represents a record figure for a women’s sports franchise. That price tag could get larger, too; Pagliuca reportedly set aside an additional $100 million to construct a practice facility to facilitate a move to Beantown.

The move isn’t quite imminent, per reports. The league still has to approve of the sale and relocation plan. The latter could prove especially challenging for Pagliuca and Co., as, according to Washburn, the league hopes to save Boston for a future relocation, possibly as soon as 2033.

A league spokesperson issued a statement to The Athletic appearing to confirm Washburn’s report.

“Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams,” the statement read. “As part of our most recent expansion process, in which three new franchises were awarded to Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia on June 30, 2025, nine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and consideration.

“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 owner Bill Chisholm has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.”

The Sun have played some games at Boston’s TD Garden, selling out the stadium twice in the past two seasons.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey indicated that the city is interested in hosting a WNBA side on a permanent basis.

“I’ve been pushing for years for Boston to get a WNBA team; I think it would be great for Boston,” Healey told Washburn. “And that would be great for the WNBA, and we saw that for a second year in a row, a sellout crowd at TD Garden. I’ve been at this for a couple of years.”

Still, it remains to be seen when that will happen — and who would bankroll such an expenditure — remains to be seen.

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Who is the Sun’s owner?

The Sun are currently owned by the Mohegan Tribe. They also own the Mohegan Sun Casino, the namesake of Connecticut’s current arena.

The franchise has routinely paid homage to its indigenous roots, hosting Indigenous People’s Night during its contest with Wings in August 2023. Its most visible tribute to the tribe — and to the broader indigenous communities that exist across the country — is its alternate jerseys, designed by Nike, which include the word “Keesusk,” a Mohegan term for “Sun.”