(Bloomberg) – Connecticut is considering offering public pension funds to keep the WNBA’s Sun team in the state. Governor Ned Lamont supports a proposal for the state pension system, which manages $ 63 billion to assets, to buy a minority stake in the franchise. Such a move is rare for a public fund. “We are still in the middle of these negotiations,” Lamont said at a press conference on pension fund performance last week. ‘We have a very competitive bid for the Connecticut Sun. I think they belong in Connecticut. ‘ Lamont refused to confirm how big an interest could take the state, but said a private investor would join the Bid – although he said the state would take precedence in any payout. State treasurer Erick Russell, who oversees the fund, said the protection of assets is his main focus. “In any agreement involving the pension fund, my priority would make sure we get the best risk -adjusted returns for pensioners,” he said at the press conference. Russell did not confirm whether a formal investment review was completed. The Connecticut retirement and trust funds yielded about 10.14% for fiscal 2025, exceeding 6.9% expectation. Yet the system remains underfunded compared to many states; 63.5% of its obligations were covered at the end of 2024 – higher than 36% in 2016 – according to data from Eqabable Institute, a dual nonprofit organizing complicated pension financing challenges. Equable executive director Anthony Randazzo said the value of WNBA franchises could rise, but Connecticut’s proposal for the sun has “the wrong, understandable, instinct to utilize public employees’ pension funds for local economic investment.” The Sun, owned by the Mohegan tribe, announced earlier this year that it includes investment options, including a sale. The team received two bids. One comes from Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca in an agreement that the team valued at a record of $ 325 million and would move it to Boston. The other comes from Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital who offered to move the team to Hartford, about an hour of its current home in Uncasville. A representative for Lasry declined to comment. None of the offers were approved, with some Connecticut officials suggesting that the WNBA interfered in negotiations. The league also offered to buy the sun directly for $ 250 million, which would allow it to relocate the franchise to a market of its choice. Connecticut’s proposal will appreciate the team higher than the WNBA’s offer. In a September 8 letter, Senator Richard Blumenthal warned the league that “any attempts at the WNBA to keep the sun in Connecticut the federal antitrust laws.” Days later, state attorney General William Tong followed with his own letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert requesting that he deliver the league documents related to the potential sale. The NBA and WNBA have drawn up rules regarding private equity, sovereign wealth and pension funds investing in teams, with a limit of 20% ownership in a single club. Although there were both private equity and sovereign wealth investments, a state-owned pension fund would be scarce. However, any investment will have to be approved by the Council of Governors of the League. Team sales and relocation must also be approved by the league’s board of governors, the league said in a statement. “Moving decisions are made by the WNBA board of governors and not by individual teams,” according to the statement. “As part of our most recent expansion process, in which three new franchises were awarded to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia on June 30, 2025, nine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and remained in active consideration.” No groups of Boston applied for a team at the time and those other cities remain considered based on the extensive work they have done as part of the expansion process and currently has priority over Boston, the statement says. The treasurer is the only fiduciary in Connecticut, and is the only fiduciary responsible for overseeing the investment of pension funds. The supervision of the treasurer comes from an investment officer and an advisory board of 12 members, with five union representatives. Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected a bill that would have replaced it with an independent investment council. Some lawmakers are worried that the proposal is an economic development gambit. Ryan Fazio, a Republican Senator of the State who sponsored the Senate Bill 1557 co-sponsored, said the Sun proposal is not motivated by maximizing the returns for civil servants, retirees and taxpayers. “It” subsidizes a certain kind of corporate activity in the state that is not what the public servants and pension funds of the state and the treasurer’s office exist, “he said.” This is what the legislature and the governor’s office traditionally have the powers to do. ” Others are more open. is. ”More stories like these are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP
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