Jennifer Rizzotti, Morgan Tuck on the Sun’s first game in Boston

When the Connecticut Sun take the court on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Sparks, they will be greeted by nearly 20,000 fans to see the first WNBA game held in Boston.

The sell-out crowd is projected to be the third-largest attendance for a WNBA game this season and will shatter the Sun’s current attendance record for a home game.

“We have fans that are so loyal to the Connecticut Sun,” Sun’s team president Jennifer Rizzotti said in an interview on Friday afternoon. “Fans that have grown up watching the Huskies and watching the Sun. They’re educated, they’re loyal and they’re passionate.

“We’re just so fortunate that over the last 20 years, we’ve been able to sustain not just a high level of success on the court, but this passionate fan base that has (remained) loyal to the team through ups and downs… at the same time, we want other fans to be able to experience the WNBA.”

Rizzotti’s roots run deep in the ‘Constitution State’. Raised in New Fairfield, CT, Rizzotti won the NCAA women’s championship on the 1995 undefeated UConn women’s basketball team and won the AP Women’s Player of the Year in 1996.

Rizzotti joined the Sun’s front office ahead of the 2021 season after coaching women’s college basketball for 22 years, 17 of which were spent at the University of Hartford. She recently returned from Paris after coaching the USA basketball 3×3 women’s team and winning the bronze medal.

“Boston and Greater New England is just ripe for supporting the WNBA and supporting women’s sports in general,” Rizzotti said.

Sun’s assistant general manager Morgan Tuck outlined how the initial discussions of hosting a game in Boston became more concrete at the start of the year, following the schedule’s release in mid-December 2023.

“We’re the only women’s professional basketball team in New England,” Tuck said after a team practice. “So (our hope is) to be viewed as New England’s team and not just Connecticut’s team.”

A four-time national champion with the Huskies (’13-’16), Tuck understands how strong the demand and appreciation for women’s basketball in the region is.

“We looked at some data and metrics to see where our fans were coming from and when they would come to our games,“ Tuck said. “We were all kind of surprised with how many (fans) come from the (Greater) Boston area.”

Rizzotti echoed that the Sun’s reach stretches well beyond the borders of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“There are a lot of fans from Maine and New Hampshire and Vermont that come down and see the Sun or come down and see UConn (women’s basketball),” Rizzotti said. “Boston makes it a little easier to drive for them.

“We’re tapping into a sports city, a city that’s used to championships and sports culture, loyalty, and passion – and we’re asking them to come to see if they’re interested in the WNBA.”

Festivities begin outside of the arena on Canal Street with the Sun Block Party starting at 3 p.m. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.