The Connecticut Sun will bring WNBA regular-season basketball to Hartford in 2026, playing two home games at PeoplesBank Arena as the franchise’s long-term future in Connecticut remains uncertain amid an ongoing sale process.
The WNBA released its 2026 regular-season schedule this week, which confirms the Sun will host the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday, May 30, at 6 p.m., and the Dallas Wings on Thursday, July 2, at 8 p.m., at PeoplesBank Arena.
Former UConn star and 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers plays for Dallas.
Hartford Business Journal first reported in December that the Sun was expected to play games in Hartford in 2026, after Gov. Ned Lamont said publicly that the newly renovated arena could host “a couple” of Sun games this year.
The Sun’s 2026 schedule includes a season opener on Friday, May 8, at the New York Liberty in Brooklyn, followed by a home opener Sunday, May 10, against the Seattle Storm at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Connecticut will play 44 regular-season games, with the schedule running from early May through late September.
The schedule includes a 17-day break from Aug. 31 through Sept. 16 for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Other prominent matchups include a June 13 home game against the Indiana Fever at Mohegan Sun Arena, as well as two home games against the Las Vegas Aces on May 13 and May 15. The Sun will also play one game in Boston, hosting the Sparks at TD Garden on Aug. 18.
Beyond this season, it’s unclear how much longer the Sun will remain in Connecticut. The franchise’s future has been in question since the Mohegan Tribal Nation put the team up for sale last year, touching off competing proposals and raising the possibility the WNBA could ultimately favor relocation to a larger media market.
Lamont in December said his “instinct” is that the team is likely headed to a “much bigger TV market,” even as he predicted Hartford would land a small number of games in 2026.
ESPN reported in mid-December that ownership of the NBA’s Houston Rockets is in substantive talks about a potential purchase and relocation of the Sun, though no agreement has been reached.
