“If it was up to me, we might relocate here,” said Sun guard Saniya Rivers. “I love Connecticut. It’s fine. But I think the market here itself is just going to be better for a women’s basketball program. I think we can make a lot of noise here, starting tonight.”
Rivers isn’t alone in her call to bring a WNBA team to Boston. Fans strolling down Canal Street during the Sun’s pregame fan festival echoed her words, calling for the league to move the Sun north or to add an expansion team in the Hub.
“We would love to have a Boston team,” said Falmouth resident Shannon Boon, a Sun fan attending the game with her daughter, Catherine. “When we heard that Boston is getting professional women’s soccer, we were like ‘Oh, what about basketball?’ ”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey added to the chatter on Tuesday, issuing a proclamation calling for a team in Boston.
“Massachusetts is the birthplace of basketball,” she said in a release. “Boston is the most exciting sports town and sports market in the country, and we have phenomenal enthusiasm for women’s sports.”
The league last month announced its plans to expand to 18 teams, adding Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030. The Golden State Valkyries joined the league this season, and the Toronto Tempo and revamped Portland Fire — whose name was announced Tuesday morning — will start play in 2026.
The Sun is owned by the Mohegan Tribe and plays at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., but the tribe has been exploring a sale — which could mean relocation of the franchise. Providence and Boston are both potential landing spots.
“The Mohegan Tribe was on the forefront of what needed to be done,” said Fever coach Stephanie White, who coached the Sun in 2023 and 2024. “Everything is changing [in the WNBA], and so being able to not just keep up, but have the foresight to see what’s coming, I think it’s important to evaluate … what you’re able to do to position the franchise for future success.”
Four hours before tip-off, the Sun officially announced the game was a sellout — making it the second straight year the Sun sold out TD Garden, following last year’s matchup between Connecticut and the Los Angeles Sparks, when 19,156 fans watched the Sun stage a 69-61 comeback victory.
“Women’s basketball belongs on the biggest stages, and we will continue to reinforce and showcase that mission,” Sun president Jen Rizzotti said in a statement.
Fans strolling up and down Canal Street before the game enjoyed face-painting stations, themed food and drink, photo booths, and a live DJ.
For each fan in a Sun jersey, another wore Fever merchandise. Among the latter group were Leah Suprenant and Mo Dunn, both of whom are Massachusetts residents but donned Fever T-shirts. Dunn was previously a Sun fan before Clark’s superstardom converted her, and Suprenant started watching the WNBA because of Clark.
“I watch the games every night that they’re on,” Suprenant said. “It doesn’t have to be the Fever or the Sun, but you watch because some of the other players you’ve come to really love watching too. It’s just made the whole game so much better.”
Banking on women’s sports
In late May, it was announced TD Bank would become the official bank of the Connecticut Sun, a landmark partnership between the regional financial institution and New England’s WNBA team.
For TD Bank, the decision was simple: With already-established relationships with the Bruins and the Celtics (and TD Garden), the next step was women’s sports.
Jennie Platt, chief marketing officer of TD’s US division, said she was excited to get the opportunity to work with the Sun.
“You think about the importance of equity, and supporting both men’s and women’s sports. Here, we have a WNBA team in New England, and it just made a ton of sense,” Platt said. “And so we started conversations with the Connecticut Sun and loved the opportunity to be able to develop a partnership with the team and support the growth of women’s sports, support the growth of the WNBA, [and] the Sun itself.”
The sponsorship is more than just a logo. TD is working with the Sun to help make it easier for fans to get to Sun games, sponsoring bus services and offering complimentary tickets.
“It gives us an opportunity to … really support the monumental increase that we’re seeing in media attention, in sponsorships, and viewership of women’s sports,” Platt said. “We want to be a part of that and we want to use it to access more customer bases.”
Platt said women’s sports helps TD “tap into customer segments that are more inclusive than maybe we’ve been able to achieve through other partnerships in the past.” Platt also said TD values the way women athletes and women’s teams are “big-time role models” for customers and their children.
Through the sponsorship, Platt said, “they see someone that they want to be, out succeeding on the court and in life.”
Katie McInerney of the Globe Staff contributed to this story.
Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy.
