NBA team announces $300million relocation as NCAA coach warns of ‘void’ in abandoned state

Mar 30, 2026 - 18:30

The Houston Comets are officially returning to the WNBA.

But at what cost?

The Comets were the WNBA's first dynasty, led by Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes — The Comets were the WNBA’s first dynasty, led by Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes

One of women’s basketball’s greatest – and most beloved – WNBA franchises is back, but that also means that the Connecticut Sun will soon cease to exist.

The announcement of the Comets’ return to the league came on Monday when the NBA‘s Houston Rockets posted about the ownership group’s acquisition of the franchise after approval from the WNBA’s Board of Governors.

“OFFICIAL: Houston Rockets owner @TilmanJFertitta’s company, Fertitta Entertainment, has entered into an agreement to purchase the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, with plans to relocate the franchise to Houston and bring back the historic Houston Comets (@HouComets) name,” read the team’s statement on X.

“Pending league approval, the franchise is expected to begin play at @ToyotaCenter for the start of the 2027 @WNBA season.”

The deal to purchase the franchise was worth an estimated $300 million — a record price for a WNBA team — with the price reportedly not including any relocation fee.

There had been rumors circulating for a long time that Houston was being considered as one of the WNBA’s next expansion teams, with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert having already awarded franchises to Portland, Toronto, Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland, taking the league’s total to 18 teams by 2030.

Now that the Sun are being relocated from Uncasville, Connecticut, after the 2026 season, Houston is now essentially ruled out of contention for an expansion team in the future.

The Sun have been based there since 2003 after having been bought by the Mohegan Tribe, who relocated the team from Florida, where they were previously known as the Orlando Miracle.

In 2024, talks of a possible sale emerged after Connecticut entertained investment options, and previously reached a deal for a $325 million sale to a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Stephen Pagliuca.

The move would have included a relocation to Massachusetts, but the WNBA’s Board of Governors blocked the deal, instead giving the green light to Houston due to having already gone through the expansion process.

Connecticut Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards (8) drives to the basket — The Sun will play one more season at the Mohegan Sun arena before relocating to Houston

UConn’s Geno Auriemma on the loss of a WNBA team in Connecticut

The announcement of the Sun’s sale and relocation to Houston came less than 24 hours after both UConn’s teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four – the men’s team thanks to late drama against the No. 1 seed Duke.

Speaking after the No. 1 Huskies’ 70-52 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame, UConn’s women’s head coach Geno Auriemma, who punched his 25th ticket to the Final Four, spoke candidly of the Sun’s move away from Connecticut and how it will leave a ‘void’ in the state.

“I think the people at Mohegan Sun, I think they stepped up when they were needed. And brought a team to Connecticut, as Connecticut deserves to have a team,” Auriemma said.

“Because we’re a proven, … where people will support women’s basketball. So then, now [with the Sun] moving, I think it leaves a void.

“They’ve got a great fan base and it wasn’t like only UConn fans and fans only went when UConn was playing, they did a great job of establishing their own fan base. … and it provided a lot of energy and passion for their teams.

“Unfortunately, that’s the world, right now…the majority of the teams… are gonna be sort of NBA-centric… And that’s where the money is.”

UConn WBB's head coach Geno Auriemma said a 'void' would be left by the impending departure of the Sun — UConn WBB’s head coach Geno Auriemma said a ‘void’ would be left by the impending departure of the Sun

Connecticut's only women's basketball team will be that of UConn who have just reached the NCAA Final Four — The Sun’s departure will leave UConn as Connecticut’s only women’s basketball team

While the relocation of the Sun to Houston is devastating for the state of Connecticut, for broader WNBA fans, this is something that has been a long time coming.

The Comets were one of the WNBA’s original teams and won the first four championships from 1997 to 2000, cementing themselves as the league’s first ever dynasty which featured the unstoppable big three of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson.

The team unfortunately disbanded in 2008 when nobody was willing to meet then-owner Hilton Koch’s asking price of $10 million – just three percent of the Sun’s sale price in 2026.

Oh how times have changed with the terms on a new CBA agreed, two new expansion teams, and a new Comets legacy is set to begin.

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