Hartford > Gampel

[JohnFSilver]

Now if the state REALLY wants to do it right, expand the logic and stop taking half measures here - take whatever money they were going to throw at the new latest XL disaster, burn the building down and use whatever's left over as a down payment and connect storrs/hartford Amtrak via light rail with stops in each suburb town, create a whole ton of jobs in the process, create a more convenient and long term durable transportation pipeline to their state university that connects it with all the big urban centers in the state.

Got a cheaper solution. They can just expand the CT Fastrack Busway, which is you live near it in New Britain to Hartford is fantastic and convenient. Get rid of the HOV -- Make it Fastrack only. Easy stops at Rent, Manchester to Storrs etc.

CT Storrs to Hartford by Fastrack, and then that to CT Rail. Would be nice to take a bus from Storrs to Hartford and get on CT rail to New Haven. Quick and easy. Rail runs springfield to New Haven. Fasttrack from Storrs to Waterbury.

 

[Kolumbo]

This BC guy is a clown 99% of the time but he's right about everything there. CT is just in a terrible spot. For such a small state, everything is so far away from each other that it helps no one. Imagine if Foxwoods and Mohegan were in Hartford? Or if Storrs wasn't 45 minutes into farm country? It like everyone tried to build as far away from each other as possible and it benefits no one

At the same time, CT is the only state where 45 minutes is considered "far." That always gets me. For such a small state, nothing is far.

 

[Guapo]

Rothstein is just parroting what Hurley wants. And yes, Hartford vs. Storrs is a big issue and source of frustration in athletic department for at last the last 10 years, probably longer.

UConn owns Gampel, runs it, budgeting and control of experience. The entire apparatus of employees are in Storrs area. They just stay late after work. It is more college atmosphere.

This is simple. First off, XL needs a new arena. Second, it needs to sell out at XL or close to it or it is not worth it. 10K at XL is a loss They need minimum of 13K or it doesn't make sense to go there.

Lastly, you can't complain about UConn athletics losing money if you don't allow them to do things to close that gap.

It doesn’t even have to be a full retreat from Hartford. Play games during break there and/or put a game they know will be a big crowd, like Nova or PC there.

But an even split between Hartford and Storrs is just dumb

 

[karstenkibbe]

Is that supposed to be for winning the A-10?

That's cringe-worthy imo, until he cuts down a net here.

That’s why I said “might”. I have no plans to make bad mojo a wearable. I will purchase the Rothstein-ism when appropriate.

 

[Scoe]

I got no issue with either, it’s really a dumb thing to argue about.

 

[Guapo]

Final thing I’ll say on this, I’m sure the crowd will be great in Storrs on Saturday and, if we win, the crowd will be bonkers in Hartford on Tuesday

 

[Husky Alien]

doesn't stop the XL no shows (students) from talking about how XL looks on tv........

Good point! However the fan base/students has improved as we get closer to tournament time. I personally don't care how it looks on TV during the regular season as long as we pack them in when it counts the most.

 

[Waquoit]

Lastly, you can't complain about UConn athletics losing money if you don't allow them to do things to close that gap.

Is playing all the games in Storrs really a net plus finance-wise? Significantly fewer seats and seat donations. Significant loss of engaged fans who actually pay money and go to games that won't go to Gampel. Maybe I underestimate how much the stay-at-home squad will increase their giving.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Random thoughts:

Nothing in CT is that far from each other as compared to larger southern and western states. We suffer from the 169 fifedom affliction.

Fan's motivation is what's missing in terms of attendance. It's been too many years of being in the AAC, sub-par men's performance, and attendance down due to TV (in most sports almost across the board). Covid is now the latest impact.

Both Gampel and XL can be awesome home courts if the fans show up and make noise. It's not about the concrete and steel or the location of the venue - it's about the people. It's pretty simple. Hell, we won home games in an empty Gampel last year.

 

[kemba]

Rothstein is just parroting what Hurley wants.

Ehh I mean it’s not like he said something that’s new or hasn’t been stated by many other media members, players, and coaches over the years

 

[Get a Job]

Final thing I’ll say on this, I’m sure the crowd will be great in Storrs on Saturday and, if we win, the crowd will be bonkers in Hartford on Tuesday

I think the crowd will be crazy on Tuesday regardless of Saturday's results. A win Saturday will certainly add some juice, though.

 

[yungdowork]

Seems like most of the complaints about the crowd are coming from people who were sitting in their recliners. We could always be louder, but Gampel was packed and the team, especially Tyrese, was feeding off of it

 

[uconnfan68]

Disappointing to see about 200 empty seats in the lower bowl.

I know we rehash this all the time. But could you imagine that full student section on one full sideline. It would be electric. Then those empty seats likely corporate wouldn’t be as much of an issue/eye sore.

They need to move students to those empty seats before the game starts. You’re late? You stand.

 

[Vancat]

People were late getting in their seats, but it was pretty full behind the bench by actual game time. A few empties but not a ton!

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Been to 2 games at XL and 2 games at gampel this year one being last nights game. The energy at gampel with the students is much better without a doubt.

If we played all our home games at Gampel, it might translate into one or two extra wins each season. The crowd is always a factor there. The XL Center has so many empty seats they could rent out the upper tiers for conventions during games. It’s sad. Games at XL comprises older folks with lots of empty seats even in the lower tiers. IMHO the XL Center should be torn down before it falls down on someone.

 

[Wise2]

Its simple: They should play all the games a Gampel when the students are there and all the games at XL when they are not. That would probably be a 70-30 split

 

[Guapo]

Its simple: They should play all the games a Gampel when the students are there and all the games at XL when they are not. That would probably be a 70-30 split

Yupppp

 

[JohnFSilver]

Is playing all the games in Storrs really a net plus finance-wise? Significantly fewer seats and seat donations. Significant loss of engaged fans who actually pay money and go to games that won't go to Gampel. Maybe I underestimate how much the stay-at-home squad will increase their it

It isn’t just about revenue generated. It is about expense.

Costs virtually nothing to open gampel. Remember, xl gets $3 a seat from ticket sales.

8 x $40,500 + ($3 x tickets sold) = cost of xl to open.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

trolling troll is trolling

 

[MoeLittle66]

I don't hate the idea of weekend games at XL and weekday games at Gampel. Rothstein has always just catered to the twitter mob and repeats the loudest voices. The big game vibe in Hartford with 15,000 buzzed fans in the stands is a different animal and just because the entitled college kids haven't experienced it, doesn't mean it's not real.

 

[XLCenterFan]

No one will be complaining about XL after we beat Nova in front of a crazed full house.

 

[Hungryhusky99]

No one will be complaining about XL after we beat Nova in front of a crazed full house.

Is this a bigger lock than Murray St.??

 

[Waquoit]

It isn’t just about revenue generated. It is about expense.

Costs virtually nothing to open gampel. Remember, xl gets $3 a seat from ticket sales.

8 x $40,500 + ($3 x tickets sold) = cost of xl to open.

But the Nova game is going to draw 6K more than the best Gampel game. Seems like there's almost half your nut right there.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

In my opinion, on TV, the students looked and sounded better than average. The rest of the crowd seemed much less energetic than average, with the exception of a few moments.

This.

In a big game, the student section is always better at Gampel than at the XL. Greatly.

But, again in a BIG game, the NON-student sections are better at the XL than Gampel. Greatly.

Just my observation after decades of attending games at both venues.

 

[CL82]

It isn’t just about revenue generated. It is about expense.

Costs virtually nothing to open gampel. Remember, xl gets $3 a seat from ticket sales.

8 x $40,500 + ($3 x tickets sold) = cost of xl to open.

So if we have a packs packed XL Center, uconn rental is approximately $89,000? So, potentially, a packed XL center would make like $60,000 more than a packed Gampel arena. Of course at Gampel you’d also have additional revenue from parking and concessions. Figure parking at north and south garage probably make some thing close to $30,000 per game and that reduces the net benefit of playing in Hartford to $30,000 before we consider whatever the value of concessions is on a per game basis. It also doesn’t include transportation costs of the team to Hartford, and lodging if the team still stays there overnight before games. (I think they used to do this in the Calhoun days.)

That computation is very back of the envelope. If anyone wants to take the time to actually refine it feel free. In any event it seems like the optimal amount of money that can be made at a full house in Hartford versus a full house at the University is maybe $20,000.