Mayor of Hartford pleads with WNBA fans to demand Connecticut Sun stay in the state amid growing possibility of moving

The Connecticut Sun has been on the sale block this month, as the Boston Globe reported that the team is set to be sold for $325 million and could be relocated to Boston by 2027. As the team's future remains in limbo, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam pleaded with the Sun fans to demand that the team remain in Connecticut.

On Thursday, Arulampalam urged Sun fans to call the WNBA to keep their hands off the franchise and retain its place in Connecticut.

“Eight, five, five, four, three, eight, zero, six, eight, three - leave them a voicemail, tell them to take their hands off the Connecticut Sun,” the mayor said.

The numbers, according to him, were the league's contact line.

For the mayor, this is their way to fight back at the league's desire to move the franchise to a bigger city like Boston.

“It is time to fight back,” Arulampalam said.

According to reports, a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca would buy the franchise from Sun's owner Mohegan Tribe. Such a deal would require the league's Board of Governors' approval.

Pagliuca would need to build a new practice facility in Boston for the franchise to move in the city from Connecticut.

The Sun are 11th with a 10-28 record after reaching the semifinals last year. The team went on to undergo a rebuilding phase, trading their core players last offseason.

Massachusetts Governor explains Boston's desire to have a WNBA team

Since the possible sale went public, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey expressed Boston and New England's desire to have a WNBA team in their city.

“I’ve been pushing for years for Boston to get a WNBA team; I think it would be great for Boston,” Healey said in a Boston Globe report. “And that would be great for the WNBA and we saw that for a second year in a row, a sellout crowd at TD Garden.

Healey also said that it would be better for the Sun's franchise to move to a different city for the foreseeable future.

"I’ve been at this for a couple of years. I also think it would be great for the Connecticut Sun to move to Boston and represent all of New England. We are the hub of New England and the place that basketball was invented. I think it makes a lot of sense,” she said.

The Sun started in Orlando before moving to Connecticut in 2003.