Connecticut’s top Republicans are concerned about the state potentially getting financially involved with the future of the Connecticut Sun.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) met with officials from the Mohegan Tribe, which owns the team, on Wednesday. Lamont has said offhand that he’s open to using money from the state pension funds to buy a minority stake in the team.
“Ask Mohegan Sun whether it was a good investment they made 20 years ago,” Lamont said last week.
State Senator Stephen Harding said Lamont should be more forthcoming with information about any potential proposals.
“We haven't received any numbers or indications of what type of investment this would be,” Harding said.
“This is a glaring example, once again, just flippantly making comments that you're going to use potentially millions of dollars of hard-earned money to invest in something that we have little to no provisions surrounding,” Harding continued.
On Thursday, a group of Republicans said they also want the state to institute a board of directors to oversee fiduciary responsibility. Connecticut is the only state where one person, the treasurer, has full fiduciary power.
“Regardless of what happens with the Sun investment, if we had this system with broad responsibility, with a board of directors who were professionals and who had legal responsibility and input for these decisions, then we could feel more secure in what decision ultimately is made,” State Senator Ryan Fazio said.
The Mohegan Tribe has been exploring a sale of its WNBA team for months. Top Connecticut officials, including Lamont, have said they're doing everything they can to keep the team in the state.
