OT: Sun will be setting in a year. Moving to Boston. | Page 2 | The Boneyard

OT: Sun will be setting in a year. Moving to Boston.

cellocgg said:
Connecticut deserves a WNBA team even more
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Connecticut just can't have anything big-time. The powers-that-be always align to take it away or prevent it from developing.
 
It remains to be seen if the league approves this as they may want Boston for future expansion. It’s in the league’s best interest to have the, stay in CT (Hartford?) and owned locally (Lasry?) so I’ll wait a bit before shedding tears.
 
Pags will make this a model franchise that will be very attractive to free agents. Living in Boston, playing at the Garden and having a dedicated state of the art practice facility will make this perhaps the premiere franchise. Good on him and best of luck.
 
As much as I hate to lose the Sun I have to admit that if I were a player and had my choice of playing in the middle of nowhere as compared to a metropolis like Boston, it would not be a difficult choice. Players thing of their pocketbook ten times out of ten before thinking of the fans.
 
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Blue Huskie said:
This is incredibly stupid and short sighted by this guy. Is he buying it for his Daughter or something? He dropped $325 mil on by far the worst team (currently) in the W, based on the huge attendance of 2 Boston Garden games where Caitlin Clark was the main attraction. He's in for a rude awakening. Smart by Mohegan. Take the big payday. Maybe they can get the franchise back on the cheap in a few years after it bombs in Boston.
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You're vastly underestimating the female sports market in this area. There's a very large number of woman athletes and sports fans in and around Boston, including the Governor of the state, with lots of money that are going nuts about having a franchise. Pagliuca knows it and has a solid group of investors lined up, he'll just have the controlling interest.
 
The writing was on the wall, and the money was just too much to pass up. The bloom was off the rose, and the Mohegan Sun has set. It's a business thing, and the tribe knows it's business, and that business is to make money for its investors and Tribal members. It was fun while it lasted, but the move was inevitable. Expect to hear, and see the inevitable hand wringing from state and local officials, over the move. Yes, even expect to hear the political leaders make threats of legal actions, like those made by Senator Blumenthal during the Big East defections of BC, and Cuse to ACC., and when the Whalers bolted for Carolina. Let's us not forget how Connecticut was played by Robert Kraft, during the so called move to Hartford, the Patriots. Let's face facts, here, although they are not enjoyable ones. Connecticut is a college sports state, not a big time major professional sport state. Connecticut is also in the unenviable position of being between New York and Boston, geographically. No professional team can succeed in Connecticut, and no professional team will buck that trend.
 
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Hoops66 said:
www.bostonglobe.com

Steve Pagliuca-led group reaches deal to buy Connecticut Sun, but WNBA cool on potential move to Boston - The Boston Globe

The league still must approve the sale, which will be for a record $325 million, and declared Saturday nine other cities which sought WNBA expansion franchises "have priority over Boston."
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
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Maybe this guy could buy the New York Yankees too. I wish someone would come up with the cash (ie: overspend) to get rid of Hal Steinbrenner.
 
Blue Huskie said:
This is incredibly stupid and short sighted by this guy. Is he buying it for his Daughter or something? He dropped $325 mil on by far the worst team (currently) in the W, based on the huge attendance of 2 Boston Garden games where Caitlin Clark was the main attraction. He's in for a rude awakening. Smart by Mohegan. Take the big payday. Maybe they can get the franchise back on the cheap in a few years after it bombs in Boston.
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Buy low , sell high. And early season games in Providence.:p
 
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Thinking logically, it all makes sense. But sport is more about emotion than it is about logic. And thinking emotionally, I haven't lived in Connecticut for half a century, yet I will always consider it to be home. Which explains why hockey became dead to me as a sport the second the Whalers moved south. So now I guess I'll have to move the WNBA into hospice care.
 
Horsebrnhil said:
The writing was on the wall, and the money was just too much to pass up. The bloom was off the rose, and the Mohegan Sun has set. It's a business thing, and the tribe knows it's business, and that business is to make money for its investors and Tribal members. It was fun while it lasted, but the move was inevitable. Expect to hear, and see the inevitable hand wringing from state and local officials, over the move. Yes, even expect to hear the political leaders make threats of legal actions, like those made by Senator Blumenthal during the Big East defections of BC, and Cuse to ACC., and when the Whalers bolted for Carolina. Let's us not forget how Connecticut was played by Robert Kraft, during the so called move to Hartford, the Patriots. Let's face facts, here, although they are not enjoyable ones. Connecticut is a college sports state, not a big time major professional sport state. Connecticut is also in the unenviable position of being between New York and Boston, geographically. No professional team can succeed in Connecticut, and no professional team will buck that trend.
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They made that obvious when the Whalers left and I've long accepted it. Frustrating thing is, even though it's a UConn-dominated state, even with all their hoops success, UConn is still always on the outside looking in at the power conference fraternities.
 
It will be interesting to see if Pags will keep the existing management structure in place. He’s a very smart guy and reportedly a decent and honorable person. While some may view this as heresy, he is a Duke alum and there is a certain person at Duke who is incredibly talented.
 
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CTBballfan243 said:
Dallas is a fun city, Boston is a great city to live. The Mohegan Sun is in the middle of nowhere. Players will want to live and play in Boston.
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And having a 100 million practice facility with all the bells and whistles is important for players. Plus as in New York City outside endorsements bring in extra money for players.
 
Now seeing reports that the WNBA might slow down/deny the purchase because it would leap frog other ownership groups that have shown interest in expansion franchises. I'm sure the WNBA would rather line the pockets of other WNBA owners as opposed to exclusively the Mohegan tribe. We shall see.
 
Now seeing reports that the WNBA might slow down/deny the purchase because it would leap frog other ownership groups that have shown interest in expansion franchises. I'm sure the WNBA would rather line the pockets of other WNBA owners as opposed to exclusively the Mohegan tribe. We shall see.
 
CTFAN4LIFE said:
Now seeing reports that the WNBA might slow down/deny the purchase because it would leap frog other ownership groups that have shown interest in expansion franchises. I'm sure the WNBA would rather line the pockets of other WNBA owners as opposed to exclusively the Mohegan tribe. We shall see.
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If they do they will end up losing a lot of future investors which will be a bad look for the league.
 
baggerbob said:
If they do they will end up losing a lot of future investors which will be a bad look for the league.
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That's one way of looking at it but they already have 8 or 9 interested investor groups wanting an expansion franchise. So, seems like the short term is healthy. Perhaps the Boston group was counting their chickens before they hatched. Interesting.
 
baggerbob said:
If they do they will end up losing a lot of future investors which will be a bad look for the league.
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The only 2 reasons I can see to block this is if:
1) New owner doesnt have a solid plan/org in place to make sure the team succeeds.
2) The W says that CT is a key market that must have a team.

Neither of those seem remotely likely. (Only NY and LA would probably qualify under #2.)
 
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Vowelguy said:
There have been several stories in recent years of players wanting out of Connecticut because of location. A WNBA player is not going to exactly blend in living in southeastern CT. Nor is there much for them to do.
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Pssh southeastern, Connecticut is well known as "the Riviera of New England."
 
This is really cheeky but I'd name them the Boston Tea. Tea is a historic reference, a transit reference, and a slang term for gossip in the queer community.

Kidding aside, they would show a lot of class and be more inclusive to keeping fanbase if they chose something more New England focused more than Boston focused.
 
New England Sun would potentially play some early season games in Providence or Mohegan Sun to avoid conflicts with Celtics & Bruins playoff games
 
‘Not quite at the finish line’: Hartford group competing with Boston bid to keep Connecticut Sun in-state

The Sun can’t be relocated from Connecticut without approval from the WNBA and its Board of Governors, and the Globe reported that the league could force the Mohegan Tribe to sell to an in-state buyer. The WNBA also put out a statement Saturday which noted that Boston did not put in a bid during the league’s most recent round of expansion and said nine bid cities that did not receive franchises “currently have priority over Boston.”


A source with knowledge of the negotiations told The Courant an investment group led by billionaire Marc Lasry, a former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, is attempting to compete with Boston’s offer to keep the team in Connecticut with a home at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford. The Hartford group’s bid also exceeds $300 million and includes plans to construct a new dedicated practice facility for the team. The Mohegan Tribe had a period of exclusivity to sell to the Boston group which has since expired, so both offers remain on the table.
 
nickp91 said:
New England Sun would potentially play some early season games
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I can guarantee that if the Mohegans dont own the team, it will not be called the Sun.
 
Veteran said:
Thinking logically, it all makes sense. But sport is more about emotion than it is about logic. And thinking emotionally, I haven't lived in Connecticut for half a century, yet I will always consider it to be home. Which explains why hockey became dead to me as a sport the second the Whalers moved south. So now I guess I'll have to move the WNBA into hospice care.
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I started rooting for the Liberty, if only because Stewie is on that team and there’s a local club here in Syracuse that does group watches.

I’m with you on the hockey thing though.
 
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