Unfortunately the ship might have sailed.
I remember the Whalers in 1990 in the playoffs with a relatively new arena with thriving downtown.
Based on recent reports the XL center seems to have outdated mechanical infrastructure. Basically one major repair from catastrophe.
In 2002 the Providence Civic Center was really dated. The lower bowl (red seats) had many broken chairs. The city decided to update the arena, and almost 15 years later it is a modern arena attracting many events. It helps that the Providence Bruins draw well, have developed a fan base after 25 years. The renovation also attracted NCAA regionals.
UCONN has an advantage in that it has a nice on campus basketball arena. With Conn. in a severe fiscal hole if UConn can it may be prudent to build on on campus ice hockey arena added on to the current arena. With people staying home to watch sports including NFL millennials not showing the same interest in sports the capacity projected on campus would fit needs.
