When the Connecticut Sun leave for Houston after the 2026 season, many people will say Hartford had its chance.
It didn’t.
That may be the biggest misconception to emerge from months of debate surrounding the franchise’s future. We spent a year arguing about whether Hartford could support a WNBA team, but we never conducted a meaningful test.
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Two games are not a test.
Two games are a tribute.
On May 30, more than 10,000 fans packed PeoplesBank Arena for the Sun’s first game in Hartford in 23 years. Pratt Street filled with families, music, food vendors and excitement. Fans traveled from across Connecticut. Businesses benefited from the crowds. For a few hours, downtown Hartford showed what a major-league atmosphere could look like.
Ariel Atkins, left, of the Sparks and Charlisse Leger-Walker of the Sun go for the loose ball during the second half of a WNBA basketball game at PeoplesBank Arena on May 30, 2026 in Hartford. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
The Sun will return for one final game on July 2.
Then the conversation ends.
But how can anyone fairly evaluate Hartford’s viability based on two isolated events?
A true market test would have looked very different. Instead of two showcase games, Hartford should have hosted six, eight, or even 10 games spread throughout the season. Weeknight games. Weekend games. Marquee opponents and ordinary opponents. Enough time to measure attendance patterns, sponsorship interest, restaurant traffic and repeat customers.
That is how businesses evaluate demand.
That is how leagues test markets.
That is how cities earn opportunities.
None of that happened.
Instead, Hartford received two farewell performances while larger decisions were already shaping the franchise’s future.
The reality is that the Sun’s departure was never primarily about fan support.
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Connecticut fans showed up. The franchise sold out season tickets. Attendance reached record levels. For more than two decades, Connecticut provided one of the WNBA’s most loyal fan bases and helped sustain women’s professional basketball long before it became one of the fastest-growing sports properties in America.
The issue was not support.
The issue was fit.
The WNBA increasingly favors ownership groups connected to NBA franchises, larger media markets, modern practice facilities and deeper capital resources. Houston offers those advantages. Whether one agrees with that strategy or not, it is a legitimate business decision.
But Hartford should not be blamed for a decision that was never truly about Hartford.
And that is where this story becomes bigger than basketball.
Downtown Hartford’s Pratt Street is seen for its potential to become a visitor destination to the city. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
For decades, Hartford has often found itself caught between perception and possibility. People discuss what the city lacks before considering what it offers. They focus on challenges before measuring potential. They assume limitations before testing opportunities.
The Connecticut Sun saga reflects that pattern.
Nobody knows what a full season of professional women’s basketball in downtown Hartford would have looked like because nobody was willing to find out. Maybe it would have exceeded expectations. Maybe it would have fallen short.
Either outcome would have provided an answer.
Instead, we are left with assumptions.
The lesson here extends far beyond sports.
Whether the issue is economic development, entertainment, housing, transportation or future investment, Hartford cannot continue to be evaluated through skepticism while being denied the opportunity to demonstrate its strengths.
The Connecticut Sun are leaving. That decision is effectively made.
But Hartford should remember what it briefly revealed.
For one afternoon, thousands of people filled downtown streets. Businesses were busy. Families gathered. A major-league atmosphere emerged in the heart of Connecticut’s capital city.
The crowd did not look like a city in decline.
It looked like a city waiting for an opportunity.
The bigger question is not whether Hartford could have supported the Connecticut Sun.
The bigger question is how many opportunities Hartford has lost because people decided what the city could do before allowing it to try.
Gregory Valor Freeborn is a Hartford native and longtime observer of the city’s civic, cultural and economic development. He previously published Hartford Courant opinion pieces under the name Gregory Johnson.