By Adam Swift
Last year, former Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca made a $325-million bid to purchase the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun with a potential move for the team to Boston.
Since then, the sale of the team and a potential move have been in limbo, as there have also been talks that the WNBA could see the team move to Houston.
However, if Pagliuca and his team are able to move the professional women’s basketball team, the city of Chelsea is looking to be in the talks as a potential home of a new practice facility for the Sun.
This week, City Manager Fidel Maltez shared a draft letter with the city council he would like to send to Pagliuca promoting a potential practice facility at 150-200 Marginal St.
“We believe that Chelsea would be a wonderful home for a practice facility for the team,” Maltez stated in a letter to the council. “There are several properties available on the waterfront that offer available land for such a facility.”
Maltez said the letter to Pagliuca speaks to Chelsea’s competitive advantages.
“Chelsea has prime location, transportation access, a proven track record of working through complex development projects, and notable public-private partnerships,” Maltez stated. “Chelsea offers immediate adjacency to downtown Boston with direct highway access. Chelsea is minutes from Logan International Airport and has high regional visibility despite our compact geography.”
Maltez noted Chelsea offers public transportation to both South Station and North Station, has several bus lines to Haymarket, Medford, and the Boston waterfront. He added that Chelsea is a major regional hub and home to major employers such as Kayem Foods, State Garden, the FBI’s Boston offices, the state MITC building, and the New England Produce Center.
“We are excited to launch our business attraction campaign funded by the City Council,” said Maltez. “The themes in this letter will center on Chelsea’s competitive advantage and pro-development administration.”