🔒Mohegan confirms CT Sun sale to Fertitta family, relocation to Houston

The Mohegan Tribe has confirmed it has reached an agreement to sell the Connecticut Sun to the family of Houston businessman Tilman J. Fertitta, with the team expected to relocate to Houston after the 2026 WNBA season pending league approval. The deal, which ESPN earlier reported is valued at about $300 million — a record price for a WNBA franchise — would transfer ownership of the team to buyers affiliated with the NBA’s Houston Rockets, which Fertitta also owns. Fertitta is a Houston billionaire who built a hospitality empire through Landry’s Inc., a privately held company that operates more than a dozen restaurant chains including Morton’s The Steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Saltgrass Steak House, as well as the Golden Nugget Casino and Hotel brand. He purchased the Rockets in 2017 for a then-record $2.2 billion and since expressed interest in bringing additional professional sports franchises to Houston. Mohegan said it reached the agreement following what it described as a “diligent and thorough process” of evaluating strategic options for the franchise. The Sun will play the 2026 season at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville before moving to Texas in 2027. The team will also play two regular-season home games this year at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford — its first time bringing WNBA action to the city — and a game at TD Garden in Boston on Aug. 18. “Mohegan owes an enormous amount of gratitude first and foremost to our extraordinary fans cheering on the team for 23 incredible seasons,” said Joe Soper, corresponding secretary for the Mohegan Tribal Council. “This team — and what the talented women who have worn this uniform over the years have meant to Mohegan Sun, our region and the impact they’ve made both on and off the court, has been nothing short of remarkable." The Mohegan Tribe has owned the Sun since 2003, when the franchise moved from Orlando to Uncasville, becoming the first independent owner in the WNBA. The tribe put the team up for sale in 2024, drawing competing bids that included a reported offer of more than $300 million from a Boston investment group and a Hartford-backed proposal tied to billionaire Marc Lasry that would have kept the team in Connecticut. State officials also explored whether pension funds could support an in-state ownership bid, though the WNBA signaled a preference for placing the franchise in a larger media market. Houston previously had a WNBA team — the Comets, one of the league’s original franchises — which ceased operations in 2008. ESPN reported the relocated team is expected to revive that name.