Mar 1, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry looks on prior to the game against the Orlando Magic at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Billionaire Marc Lasry is looking into making a bid to buy the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA, Sportico reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.
The owners of the Sun have been exploring the possibility of selling the franchise. In May, owner Mohegan Tribe hired Allen & Company, an investment bank, to handle a potential sale.
Lasry declined to comment to Sportico.
Lasry has experience in pro basketball ownership. In 2023, he sold his 25 percent share of the Milwaukee Bucks to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam at a team valuation of $3.2 billion.
The 64-year-old Lasry made his money in hedge funds. Forbes pegs his net worth at $1.9 billion.
The Sun are the only professional sports team in Connecticut and play at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. However, they share their facilities with the tribe, and players have complained about issues such as insufficient practice space because of facilities doing double duty.
Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters on July 15 that a priority will be to keep the team in Connecticut. Women’s basketball is popular in the state, given the success of coach Geno Auriemma’s women’s basketball program at UConn — 12 national championships.
“They mean a lot to the state,” Lamont said of the Sun. “I’ll be speaking with the Mohegan Sun and see what the situation is. I don’t want to put the taxpayers’ money at risk, but I also know how important the Connecticut Sun is, so I will just hear what they have to say.”
Per Sportico, Lamont said a prospective purchaser was a “former owner of an NBA team” — believed to be Lasry. Lamont said that under a preliminary plan, that ownership group would keep the team in state, with many of the Sun’s home games shifting to the newly renovated arena in a larger population base in Hartford, the state capital.
Per Sportico, the last WNBA team to be sold was the Atlanta Dream in 2021 in a deal worth somewhere between $7 million and $10 million.
A sale could bring a windfall to the tribe, which paid $10 million to buy the Orlando Miracle in 2003. ESPN reported June 30 that the expansion fee for owners bringing teams to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia later this decade is $250 million.
The Sun have never won a WNBA title but have lost four times in the league finals, most recently in 2022.
Front Office Sports previously reported that Boston and Providence were possible destinations for the team in a potential sale. The team notified season ticket holders via email last week that the team will play in Uncasville in the 2026 season.
–Field Level Media
