Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee recently met with an investor who is interested in potentially purchasing the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and moving them to Providence, according to WPRI. The meeting comes on the heels of reports that the Sun, who play at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., may be up for sale.
Morning Host Luis Hernandez spoke with Hartford Courant reporter Emily Adams about the chances of Providence hosting a WNBA team.
Interview highlights
On potential destinations for the Connecticut Sun
Emily Adams: As soon as it was reported that the team was looking into selling, Boston was, I think, everybody’s first thought. They played at TD Garden the last two years and sold it out both times. Obviously, there is a great history with the Celtics. You have access to facilities there. Their biggest issue in Connecticut right now is that they don’t have access to a pro-level practice facility anywhere nearby.
But Boston’s ownership group told the Globe a couple weeks back that the [team owners the Mohegan] tribe is interested in selling to a buyer that would keep the team in Connecticut, presumably because that allows the tribe to keep filling the arena in the summer. It gives them events throughout random weeknights and things that get people into the casino.
On whether Providence could be a suitable home for a WNBA team
Adams: Every other team actively in the league right now either has a practice facility, shares one with an NBA team, or has plans to build one in the next two to three years.
So Chicago is currently in the same situation as the Sun. They practice at a rec gym, but they’ve already broken ground on, I believe, a $40 million facility. Last year, the Phoenix Mercury opened a $100 million facility.
The team evaluations are as high as they’ve ever been. Right now, if the Sun sell, it will be the biggest sale in WNBA history, and I don’t think there’s a question about that. That’s because they’re requiring more money than they ever have before. It’s a huge upfront investment to put tens of millions of dollars into building a facility, into having the space to build a facility. It takes time to do that.
On whether Providence can attract the existing Connecticut fanbase
Adams: Yeah, I think they definitely can, and I think that’s one of the things that’s been appealing about Boston, too, is that it’s in commuting distance for a lot of Connecticut fans. It’s still a 45-minute to an hour drive down to Mohegan, anyway. Fans are not afraid of a little bit of a commute. I think that would be one of the benefits of keeping it in the northeast. You can, kind of, retain some of that fan loyalty to an extent. But I do think it would be hard in some ways in that it would be hard for fans to lose the Connecticut branding of it, to have it not be Connecticut’s team anymore.
On whether the Amica Mutual Pavilion is a WNBA-caliber arena
Adams: It really varies super widely by franchise. Some of them share NBA arenas. The New York Liberty play at Barclays, so that’s 19,000 seats. But Atlanta plays in a 3,000 seat – super tiny – space. The Washington Mystics are in a similar situation — theirs is 5,000 or 6,000 [capacity.]
What’s really becoming kind of the primary issue specifically for players… is the external facilities: the practice space, the dedicated training areas, all of those sort of like quality of life-type things. That’s what players are caring about and talent is caring about a lot more than the gym itself.
