Months after hosting games for the first two rounds of the NCAA’s March Madness tournament, basketball fever has apparently returned to Providence with this question: Is Gov. Dan McKee making a full court press to lure the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun to Rhode Island’s capital city?
WPRI-12 first reported that McKee met with “an investor who’s interested in potentially purchasing and relocating the Sun to Providence” at the Amica Mutual Pavilion (AMP) on July 11. The station states that the home of the Providence College Friars and the Providence Bruins was temporarily reconfigured as a basketball stadium for the showcase.
McKee’s office did not respond when asked about the validity of the rumor, but did share a copy of the governor’s schedule with Rhode Island Current confirming he was at the arena for a “meeting and tour” from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
“What I can tell you is that I did tour the AMP with an undisclosed individual,” McKee told reporters at an unrelated press conference in South Kingstown Tuesday afternoon. “I’m a basketball enthusiast, I do know the game — if we’re able to expand our footprint with professional basketball in the state of Rhode Island, we’re going to do everything we can to make that happen.”
Since 2003, the Sun has been owned by the Mohegan Tribe and plays at Mohegan Sun Arena on the tribe’s reservation, which seats 8,910 for WNBA games. The franchise was previously based in Florida, where it operated as the Orlando Miracle.
In May, Sportico reported the tribe hired investment bank Allen & Company to explore selling the team.
“Mohegan continues to evaluate all strategic opportunities in the best interest of the Connecticut Sun, [Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority], and the WNBA,” tribal spokesperson Cody Chapman said in an emailed statement.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said he was not involved with McKee’s meeting at the AMP and had no details.
“I only know what I read in the news,” he told reporters at the city’s budget signing Tuesday morning in his office at City Hall.
But even the prospect of getting a WNBA franchise in his city has Smiley believing Providence has the potential to have a passionate fanbase should the Sun relocate.
“Boston can have the Celtics, and we can have women’s basketball,” he said.
The Sun have qualified for the WNBA playoffs in 16 of their 21 seasons in Connecticut — winning two conference titles in 2004 and 2005. But the franchise still remains without a championship title. And the chances aren’t looking too hot this season, as the team sits at a 3-18 record as of Tuesday.
Any effort by the state to relocate the franchise to Providence would come at a time when the WNBA is seeing rapid growth and popularity in recent years, particularly following the emergence of star players like Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever in 2024.
Last year, league officials inked an 11-year TV deal valued at $2.2 billion and has expanded to its 13 franchises in San Francisco — with plans to have 18 teams playing by 2030.
“The WNBA is in an explosive growth state right now,” University of Rhode Island marketing professor Dan Sheinin said in an interview. “I’m sure the governor sees this as a way to kind of reframe and rebrand the way people think about Providence and Rhode Island.”
Successfully courting the Sun’s relocation could help the state rebound from the Pawtucket Red Sox’s relocation to Worcester in 2021 — though the state did gain a professional soccer franchise last year. McKee, who often bills himself as the coach of “Team Rhode Island,” could see his re-election prospects improve, Sheinin said.
“There’s absolutely no question,” he said. “That’s something tangible and could be very meaningful to the population.”
Sheinin said a move to Rhode Island would give the franchise more centralized to New England —short of relocating to Boston — and could help the Sun build a broader regional identity beyond just Connecticut.
“It’s harder for people in New England — especially northern New England, Boston, etc. — to identify with the Sun,” he said. “Anything in Connecticut can’t escape New York.”
But the state’s size may be a hindrance to securing a professional sports team — especially at a time the WNBA is looking to get bigger, Sheinin argued. And if McKee is serious about courting the franchise, he said the state will need to put together a compelling economic package that may include upgrades to the AMP, which was opened in 1971.
“A lot of newer stadiums are being built as part of a center that has retail, restaurants and bars,” Sheinin said.
The state would also need to prove that Providence can generate more revenue for the team than it would remaining in Connecticut. In June, Forbes ranked the Sun as the 11th most valuable WNBA franchise, valuing the team at $200 million, with $14 million in annual revenue.
Still, Sheinin said he believed Rhode Island’s small size would be outweighed by a passionate fanbase for the only pro team in town.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
