Budget Plan Includes $115 Million for XL Center Renovations

[TheDoggPound]

Budget Plan Includes $115 Million for Hartford's XL Center Renovations

 

[John]

Budget Plan Includes $115 Million for Hartford's XL Center Renovations

Hire CT firms only and CT citizens exclusively.

 

[Waquoit]

Like Centerplan

 

[mdkhusky]

Hire CT firms only and CT citizens exclusively.

That has gone well before

 

[FartMan69]

Zero percent chance this renovation happens

 

[GemParty]

Zero percent chance this renovation happens

In ten years with UConn now downtown, you think the capital city won't have a modern arena?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Do these renovations include demolishing the arena and rebuilding it from scratch?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Seems like a ton of money to put into quite possibly the least attractive venue I've ever been to for a big time hoop game.

With the state's financial issues, is it really smart to dump $115M into an arena that only has a pulse for 5 UConn games a year?

 

[Waquoit]

They need to expand the concourses and I'm not sure that's possible.

 

[Palatine]

The problem is that the state (and city) never do anything right in the first place. They choose the cheap option, that causes problems, they end up paying more than they would if they did it right from day one. That happened with the baseball field, it happened with the very first Hartford Civic Center, it happens on almost every project they do. Spend the money, do it right, it is cheaper and better in the long run.

Heck, if they built the Rent with 50,000 seats, there's a good chance we would be in a better conference now. Of course, many of the legislators only wanted to build a 25,000 seat stadium because it would be cheaper. Go big or go home.

 

[FartMan69]

In ten years with UConn now downtown, you think the capital city won't have a modern arena?

There is no way they approve the full 250 million and there's also no way 115 million makes the XL anything close to modern. If anything 115 just kicks the can down the road for another 10-15 years. I think the way the state has handled this building is criminal and should have been replaced 20 years ago instead they choose to throw bad money to keep an outdated arenas lights on.

 

[Kemba429]

2 years of playing at Gampel only?!?

 

[superjohn]

The problem is that the state (and city) never do anything right in the first place. They choose the cheap option, that causes problems, they end up paying more than they would if they did it right from day one. That happened with the baseball field, it happened with the very first Hartford Civic Center, it happens on almost every project they do. Spend the money, do it right, it is cheaper and better in the long run.

Heck, if they built the Rent with 50,000 seats, there's a good chance we would be in a better conference now. Of course, many of the legislators only wanted to build a 25,000 seat stadium because it would be cheaper. Go big or go home.

View attachment 24878

I've been saying this for years. They will have put so much lipstick on the pig (Civic Center) that a new arena could have been built for the probably the same price.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Fartman, when the $115m goes through they'll have no other choice than to see the plan through or else they just sunk $160m into rebooting the building for no reason. That's not going to happen. Also if the $115m passes in this business/political climate it's tough to envision a scenario where they don't get the rest of the funds.

 

[TheDoggPound]

2 years of playing at Gampel only?!?

They're going to do the brunt of the work in the offseasons spread over 3-4 years. No teams will be displaced or disrupted.

 

[John]

Time to freshen up the Pergo in the men's room.

 

[Kemba429]

They're going to do the brunt of the work in the offseasons spread over 3-4 years. No teams will be displaced or disrupted.

 

[ZachCT12]

won't be getting funded if GOP budget passes somehow despite a Malloy veto.

 

[FartMan69]

See