Dave Benedict on future of XL Center

[Husky25]

But where will Monster Jam and American Idol on Ice go without the XL?

Monster Jam can go to Rentschler.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Monster Jam can go to Rentschler.

Would be better for the turf than soccer

 

[UCPharma11]

My apologies if already mentioned/postulated in the prior 10/11 pages of comments, but we should get an official arena built near/next to Rentschler and have upscale shopping/food amenities built around it. Just my two cents ala to what is present at Foxsbough.

 

[Fishy]

Chief
Somebody I’d going to have to own/run the place if it continues to operate. The City of Hartford owned it for its first 20 years or so. Now CRDA. No private company want it because arenas in midsize cities are very difficult to run in the black. CRDA is kind of like the NCAA. If you didn’t have it you would need something just like it.

These second city arenas are never profitable.

Financially, they simply do not work.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Nighthawks, Aerosmith, Rush and bunch of other good memories from that place, even it was a dump and poorly designed. Oh, and walkable in daylights hours to Pepe's.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Weekday games should be at XL and weekends in Gampel. Done.

In an ideal world, all games on campus unless school is not in session. Pragmatically with a nod to Southern Connecticut fans, weekend games at XL and weeknight games on campus as they will still drawn students and cutting-off an extra 30 minutes in the car for Fairfield county fans who have to work on a weeknight is not much of a incentive to go to Hartford instead of Storrs.

 

[raf46]

Seems to be applying pressure to the state.

fewer fans at games in the GP. means loss of ticket and seat license money by 6000 a game

 

[John]

fewer fans at games in the GP. means loss of ticket and seat license money by 6000 a game

and not having to pay rent to the XL.........

 

[uconnbill]

Nighthawks, Aerosmith, Rush and bunch of other good memories from that place, even it was a dump and poorly designed. Oh, and walkable in daylights hours to Pepe's.

So many good memories in the old New Haven Coliseum from the WWF, Huey Lewis, The Go Go's and many other concerts

 

[John Greene]

So many good memories in the old New Haven Coliseum from the WWF, Huey Lewis, The Go Go's and many other concerts

That place was a real pit. Especially for Nighthawk games.

 

[DFW HOYA]

out of curiosity, how many games does Georgetown play at the Capital One Arena?

All of them, sometimes drawing as little as 20% capacity.

Georgetown does many things well but facilities are not one of them. Should the Huskies play Sunday, it will be at McDonough Gymnasium, built in 1951, a building that has never been renovated, so much so that a pay phone booth still exists in the lobby. Twenty years after a fundraising effort began for a new football/lacrosse stadium, it opens next year...except GU only built one side of stands to finish it. The track and field program hasn't had a home track since 1996 and practices at a nearby public school field with a five to a mile oval.

Capital One Arena (nee Verizon Center) is a step up from the soulless Capital Centre of days gone by, but Georgetown hasn't sold out a home game in seven years. Due to DC COVID rules, it's locked up TFN.

 

[John]

All of them, sometimes drawing as little as 20% capacity.

Georgetown does many things well but facilities are not one of them. Should the Huskies play Sunday, it will be at McDonough Gymnasium, built in 1951, a building that has never been renovated, so much so that a pay phone booth still exists in the lobby. Twenty years after a fundraising effort began for a new football/lacrosse stadium, it opens next year...except GU only built one side of stands to finish it. The track and field program hasn't had a home track since 1996 and practices at a nearby public school field with a five to a mile oval.

Capital One Arena (nee Verizon Center) is a step up from the soulless Capital Centre of days gone by, but Georgetown hasn't sold out a home game in seven years. Due to DC COVID rules, it's locked up TFN.

Do they pay rent?

 

[glastonbury50]

These second city arenas are never profitable.

Financially, they simply do not work.

Did they flip a profit during the Whaler years? Genuinely interested.

 

[Fishy]

Did they flip a profit during the Whaler years? Genuinely interested.

It was profitable, off and on, into the late 80s.

 

[DFW HOYA]

Do they pay rent?

At Capital One Arena? A ton, just short of MSG rates.

This year, with no games, may be a write-off or an extension of the term.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

There are two related issues here: the viability of XL Center and the lifespan of Gampel Pavilion. At 30 years and counting, this is the time where arenas either go through a major renovation of sorts (e.g., Villanova) or are planned for obsolescence and replacement (e.g., Baylor's Farrell Center, a 10,000 seat arena with much the same architecture as Gampel). "Major" renovations could include new electrical, plumbing, infrastructure, etc. and not just the roof.

The athletic department also knows the state isn't funding two projects. Back in the day, the University of Alabama played most of its big football games at Legion Field in Birmingham, and not on campus at Bryant-Denny Stadium. After numerous expansions, Alabama came to the conclusion that it made more sense to play on campus than in a decaying Birmingham, and while there was much loyalty around the old stadium, the fan base learned to travel to Tuscaloosa going forward.

So...does the state place a $800 million bet on a new XL/Civic Center without an NBA/NHL anchor tenant, or a $200 million refurb of Gampel to set it up for the next generation?

If UConn wants to have a massive expansion of Gampel or a new arena on campus, it should be operated by a business. It should be used for conferences, concerts, etc. to recover some revenue. If the local residents don't want that traffic flow, then lets forget about a major upgrade. The Rent sits vacant most of the time. I am all for having the best stadiums in the country for UConn, but we have to be realistic in the COVID and post COVID economy. Post-COVID, many events will be held regionally as people have grown to not want to travel longer distances for events, could be good for CT events.