Connecticut officials are banding together to oppose how the WNBA has handled the Sun sale process.

The state’s attorney general, William Tong, pressed WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Thursday to produce a group of documents he believes may shed light on the league’s plans for the Sun. Those documents include the membership agreement between the WNBA and the Sun, the league’s rules and regulations, and copies of any appraisals, offers, and expressions of interest for the team.

Tong said during a Thursday press conference that his request is not meant to be hostile, but that he hopes the league takes it “very seriously.”

As of Thursday evening the WNBA had not responded to Tong’s request, a spokesperson for the AG’s office tells Front Office Sports.

As far as next steps if the league fails to produce the documents, Tong said “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” but that he would “exhaust every option” to keep the team in Connecticut, “where they belong.”

“There’s a body of law” around pro team relocation, he said, including “a number of antitrust cases.”

“I’m asking for basic governing documents that establish the relationship between the team and league,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a secret.”

The WNBA did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.

The Sun saga dates back to July, when the team’s current owner—the Mohegan Tribe—agreed to a $325 million deal with Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that would move the franchise to Boston. FOS reported that Engelbert never presented the offer to the league’s board of governors. Former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry reportedly matched the $325 million offer, as part of a proposal that would move the team to Hartford full-time.

Tong’s appeal to Engelbert comes not long after both of the state’s U.S. senators expressed displeasure with the league and pushed to keep the team in the state. Earlier this month, the state of Connecticut put forth a proposal to buy a minority stake in the franchise.

The league’s preferred market for the franchise is believed to be Houston, FOS previously reported. 

The Sun, which in 2003 moved from Florida to Uncasville, Conn., have made it to four WNBA Finals in the state.

The WNBA and Sun are expected to meet next week to discuss options. 

The private-equity firm whose investment holdings include Spanish soccer league LaLiga and the Women’s Tennis Association is expanding its sports business through a dedicated division led by veteran sports-industry executives.

Rumors that Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners was planning a sports-specific division date back to July, when Sky News reported the firm had hired Goldman Sachs, PJT Partners, and Raine Group to assist with a deal to bring its sports assets together under a new entity called SportsCo.

The unit, now called Global Sport Group, is led by chair Marc Allera, whose experience includes serving as chair of Jagex, a British video game maker backed by CVC, as well as more than three years as chair of TNT Sports—a joint venture between BT Sport and Warner Bros. Discovery that broadcasts the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and more in the U.K. and Ireland. Allera previously served more than nine years as CEO of U.K. communications company EE. 

Allera was initially brought on in May, although back then the idea was just “a concept” and “nothing had formally come together,” a spokesperson for CVC tells Front Office Sports. The actual formation of Global Sport Group happened more recently and was “unveiled this week.”

In addition to LaLiga and WTA, CVC’s sports holdings include French soccer governing body Ligue de Football Professionnel, which oversees leagues including Ligue 1, sports-focused investment firm Bruin Capital, the Gujarat Titans, a cricket franchise in the Indian Premier League, and more. The sports assets have a combined value of about $13.6 billion, according to multiple reports.

Also involved in the leadership group for Global Sport Group are Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, former WWE executives who also helm investment firm Isos Capital Management. In 2021, a special purpose acquisition company backed by that firm acquired bowling alley operator Bowlero. Both of their LinkedIn pages say they started as directors for Global Sport Group this month.

Barrios said in a LinkedIn post that he is “excited” to join Global Sport Group. “The opportunity to help shape and expand one of the most ambitious sports ventures out there is incredibly energizing,” he wrote.

CVC, which is publicly traded on the Euronext exchange, was one of the firms approved to invest in NFL teams, although it and Blackstone removed themselves from that group in May. 

There is another similarly named sports-related entity called Global Sports Group, which bills itself as a sports agency and marketing firm. A representative for that company tells FOS there is “no relation” between it and CVC’s new entity.

The leadership team at CVC’s Global Sports Group did not respond to requests for comment.

Private-equity players are increasingly interested in sports as an asset class, and as part of that interest, some of the biggest firms in the world have launched separate, sports-specific divisions. Before CVC, in February, Ares Management formed a sports arm. Ares owns a 10% stake in the Miami Dolphins, a significant equity stake in MLS team Inter Miami, and is invested in League One Volleyball, among other sports holdings.

CVC and Ares are competing against an ever-growing set of PE rivals. Arctos and Dynasty Equity are examples of firms that focus exclusively on sports. In August, NMS Capital Group launched NMS Sports, which aims to invest in companies and pro sports teams across the U.S. and Europe. 

Other major PE firms invest in sports but have not yet launched dedicated divisions. As examples, Carlyle Group owns NWSL team the Seattle Reign and just recently entered into an agreement with Oracle Red Bull Racing to become the first investment firm whose name and branding will be on a Formula One race car, while Sixth Street Partners is among the new minority owners of the Celtics.

When former MLB All-Star and World Series champion Dexter Fowler joined the ownership group of the Premier League’s AFC Bournemouth last year, something he once thought out of reach had become reality. 

Fowler, who played 14 MLB seasons and won a World Series in 2016 with the Cubs, is well aware of “the bad stigma” that “athletes always lose their money” after retiring, he told Front Office Sports on a recent episode of Portfolio Players. 

He wasn’t content to simply not go broke; after retiring from baseball in 2023, he eyed sports ownership opportunities. “As athletes, we didn’t know [ownership] was obtainable,” Fowler said. 

His path to ownership started with an unlikely connection. When Fowler moved to Las Vegas, he quickly learned his neighbor was Bill Foley, who founded title insurance company Fidelity National Financial and owns the NHL’s Golden Knights as well as a number of soccer teams (including Bournemouth) through Black Knight Football Club. Fowler introduced himself to Foley on a golf course, they became friends, and eventually Foley said, “I have something for you when you’re ready to retire.” That was Bournemouth.

“It’s relationships like that that have helped me transition from being an athlete to a business owner,” Fowler said. “Everything Bill touches is usually gold.”

The reality of ownership isn’t just about cashing dividend checks, Fowler quickly learned. Especially in the Premier League, in which there’s no salary cap, so owners must continuously pour money into everything from players to facilities, and more.

“That aspect of it gets tough,” he said. But when your team wins, he added, it’s worth every penny.

The exposure has opened new doors for Fowler as well. Ownership puts him in rooms with executives, investors, and celebrities in a way that’s different from being an athlete. 

“The higher you get, the smaller the world gets,” he said. “You realize everybody knows everybody.”

Fowler, who also runs a talent management company called 400 Ventures, is interested in opportunities in tech as well: He’s built friendships with Silicon Valley leaders like Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz, and is eager to go deeper in areas like artificial intelligence.

More than anything, he says he wants to continue changing the perception of what athletes can do once they are done playing.

“[People] don’t really know how invested and how smart we are,” he said. “And the connections we have. That we’re able to get in deals, the right deals. I mean, before … you only heard the bad things. It’s like everybody has PTSD, and we get a bad stigma.”