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Dave Benedict on future of XL Center

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It‘s New England. I don’t think any other local state school is having that kind of success raising money either. Nobody in eastern Massachusett, which is where the money is, cares about UMass. It starts at a young age. In the mid and South you are watching college sports from toddler on. It’s baked into your life. You’re in Georgia. now, you know this is true.

Growing up in Manchester people were astounded that I knew what teams were in the Big Ten, Big 8 and SWC. But my parents were from Kansas, so it was part of my life early on.

I've heard it said people in the Northeast don't support their universities financially as much as other regions support theirs for a couple reasons:
-Pro sports in the region draw a lot of attention and money;
-Taxes are high and should take care of everything, so why donate to the university.

It would be interesting to see a chart of donation levels prior to Big East membership, and whether there were rises and falls in donations with the rise of the basketball and football teams, the move to the AAC and then the move back to the Big East.
 
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I am quite aware how many people live within easy driving distance of Gampel, which is why I made my previous statement. It's far less than any other major college basketball program, no matter how small Lawrence, Kansas is in your mind.

There are plenty of fans willing to make the 45-minute (plus, traffic, parking, weather delays) or whatever it is that you have decided is easy driving distance time from all over CT a few times a year, there are significantly less able to do it on weeknights twice as often as they do now, which is what UConn would need to have happen if all games were moved to campus. But sure, instead of renovating the downtown Hartford arena that currently allows many more fans easy access to the game, let's just revamp the state highway system to go directly to downtown Storrs to prove we ain't lazier than those Hoosiers and Jayhawks an additional 9 times a year. Great idea.

Yes, I think all games should be played at Gampel. That’s clearly what I’ve been arguing in this thread and for the entirety of my time on the yard.

Give me a break.
 
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I've heard it said people in the Northeast don't support their universities financially as much as other regions support theirs for a couple reasons:
-Pro sports in the region draw a lot of attention and money;
-Taxes are high and should take care of everything, so why donate to the university.

It would be interesting to see a chart of donation levels prior to Big East membership, and whether there were rises and falls in donations with the rise of the basketball and football teams, the move to the AAC and then the move back to the Big East.

Its actually a bit more complicated.

What people in the northeast have a difficult time understanding is that “old money” in the rest of the country send their kids to the flagship state school so the alumni base generally has much deeper pockets.

For instance, kids that go to Lovett, Westminster and Paces (old money prep schools with 30K+ tuitions here in Atlanta) go to UGA and Georgia Tech whereas kids like that in CT do not go to UConn.
 
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Its actually a bit more complicated.

What people in the northeast have a difficult time understanding is that “old money” in the rest of the country send their kids to the flagship state school so the alumni base generally has much deeper pockets.

For instance, kids that go to Lovett, Westminster and Paces (old money prep schools with 30K+ tuitions here in Atlanta) go to UGA and Georgia Tech whereas kids like that in CT do not go to UConn.

(keep this is mind when people here call schools not on the coasts “hick schools” or “redneck schools” etc. It’s a pretty clear indicator those people have no idea what they are talking about)
 

BoukofJames

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Mrs Guapo went to UGA and they had a program director who’s job was to find her and other students who wanted to be in DC internships. Many other schools had similar programs.

UConn is very good at attracting students, but the other end (career services, alumni relations etc.) are severely lacking

That wasn’t my experience. UConn Business School gave me an insane amount of individual attention as a senior and shepherded me to a job/career that I love.
 
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That wasn’t my experience. UConn Business School gave me an insane amount of individual attention as a senior and shepherded me to a job/career that I love.

Yup, the business school (especially the Accounting program) is a good outlier. But Mrs Guapo, like me, was just your standard liberal arts major
 
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Yes, I think all games should be played at Gampel. That’s clearly what I’ve been arguing in this thread and for the entirety of my time on the yard.

Give me a break.
I really don't care about your Yard history. You were aggressively calling our fans out for being lazier than Indiana and Kansas fans based on things that are factually not true. You were wrong, and if that's what you believe, you are still wrong. Give me a break.
 
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I really don't care about your Yard history. You were aggressively calling our fans out for being lazier than Indiana and Kansas fans based on things that are factually not true. You were wrong and you are still wrong.

nope it’s not wrong. Storrs, despite its rural surroundings, is centrally located smack dab in the most densely populated part of the country. And if you’d bother to read my argument here, it’s based on the fact that I do not believe the fan base is lazier than those fan bases, just that one particular fan
 
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I am quite aware how many people live within easy driving distance of Gampel, which is why I made my previous statement. It's far less than any other major college basketball program, no matter how small Lawrence, Kansas is in your mind.

There are plenty of fans willing to make the 45-minute (plus, traffic, parking, weather delays) or whatever it is that you have decided is easy driving distance time from all over CT a few times a year, there are significantly less able to do it on weeknights twice as often as they do now, which is what UConn would need to have happen if all games were moved to campus. But sure, instead of renovating the downtown Hartford arena that currently allows many more fans easy access to the game, let's just revamp the state highway system to go directly to downtown Storrs to prove we ain't lazier than those Hoosiers and Jayhawks an additional 9 times a year.
What you are stating is a Connecticut/Northeast thing. It's what I have stated many times on here, CT. people are spoiled when it comes to driving. It's a product of being in the Northeast where everything is close by. In the Midwest and South driving a few hours is no big deal, in CT. some people make a half hour drive sound like a major inconvenience. People in CT. talk about Storrs being in the middle of nowhere, sure it's rural but there are levels to this. Much of the rest of the country would consider it crazy to say Storrs is in the middle of nowhere when it's surrounded by millions of people.
 

HuskyHawk

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I've heard it said people in the Northeast don't support their universities financially as much as other regions support theirs for a couple reasons:
-Pro sports in the region draw a lot of attention and money;
-Taxes are high and should take care of everything, so why donate to the university.

It would be interesting to see a chart of donation levels prior to Big East membership, and whether there were rises and falls in donations with the rise of the basketball and football teams, the move to the AAC and then the move back to the Big East.

I think the main reason is that people in the Northeast are supporting private institutions. Harvard and Yale aren’t having any problems.
 
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What you are stating is a Connecticut/Northeast thing. It's what I have stated many times on here, CT. people are spoiled when it comes to driving. It's a product of being in the Northeast where everything is close by. In the Midwest and South driving a few hours is no big deal, in CT. some people make a half hour drive sound like a major inconvenience. People in CT. talk about Storrs being in the middle of nowhere, sure it's rural but there are levels to this. Much of the rest of the country would consider it crazy to say Storrs is in the middle of nowhere when it's surrounded by millions of people.
I actually grew up in the midwest (Colorado, but it's midwest enough to people who explain things like this to me on the internet). I found it amazing when I went to UConn how little distance people were willing to drive for anything compared to what I grew up used to. I get it. I also know that every person who has ever visited me in Storrs from anywhere said something along the lines of "It's in the middle of nowhere," because it is.

But the distance the majority of people are willing to drive regularly for a sporting event starting at 7 p.m. on weeknights is a math equation from when they are able to leave work and get to their seats, not a philosophical conversation about driving distance.
 
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What you are stating is a Connecticut/Northeast thing. It's what I have stated many times on here, CT. people are spoiled when it comes to driving. It's a product of being in the Northeast where everything is close by. In the Midwest and South driving a few hours is no big deal, in CT. some people make a half hour drive sound like a major inconvenience. People in CT. talk about Storrs being in the middle of nowhere, sure it's rural but there are levels to this. Much of the rest of the country would consider it crazy to say Storrs is in the middle of nowhere when it's surrounded by millions of people.

I agree with you here. I lived in CT and then moved to Fort Wayne, IN back in '05. I complained about driving so dang far to go to the store. Fort Wayne has about 250k people and it is massive. Driving to the other side of town could take 45 minutes.

Now I drive upwards of 40-50 minutes to do to Costco and I don't mind that drive.

I think part of the problem is that since CT and the Northeast is so densely populated that they don't have room to expand. Most of the areas in IN have multiple lanes of traffic instead of the just 1 lane in either direction. In the northern part of Fort Wayne, there are most of the roads have 4 lanes of traffic and a good portion of the roads have 3-4 lanes of traffic in either direction.
 

CL82

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FWIW, Hartford is what 35 minutes from Storrs and has a population o 122,000+. Mansfield is 26K, Storrs is 15 etc. but basically the the eastern half of the state is within 45 minutes of Storrs. So that's pretty close to a million people. That doesn't count Mass and RI. There are plenty of people to fill Gampel. That doesn't mean that they will though.
 
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FWIW, Hartford is what 35 minutes from Storrs and has a population o 122,000+. Mansfield is 26K, Storrs is 15 etc. but basically the the eastern half of the state is within 45 minutes of Storrs. So that's pretty close to a million people. That doesn't count Mass and RI. There are plenty of people to fill Gampel. That doesn't mean that they will though.
Agreed. This is why the current arrangement works so well for our fan base, despite the constant need to have the same argument here. There is a small fan base in the immediate local vicinity -- that 15k you are listing for Storrs is almost entirely just UConn students and the size of the Storrs/Mansfield immediate region continues to be smaller than any other major basketball power's no matter how big Guapo thinks Lawrence, Kansas is in his mind -- enough within the 45 minutes or so to go to a few games, but unlikely to be close enough to make the commitment for a full season at Gampel. Hartford has a much larger population close enough to attend more frequently and has a larger arena. It's a proven formula that works very well. There are a whole bunch of banners in both buildings because of it. Any discussion should be how to keep the formula that works in play, not how to piss off half our fans.
 
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This Gampel vs XL discussion again. I live in Fairfield County and have season tix at XL. Hartford is just the better option for fans down here. I completely understand the play all games at Gampel argument. But less fans from here will make the trip or maybe only a game or two. And then less reason to donate also. I’d be OK with it but will spend my money at MSG.
I live in the northwest corner of the state and the commute from here to Storrs is tough during the week, I have to work and by the time I get out and head over to the campus traffic is backed up and I really don't like arriving at half time because of traffic on the highway and the road up to Storrs. I am also a season ticket holder to both arena's but have had to stay home at times because if the weather is bad traffic is even worse not to mention the conditions of the roads near Storr's after the game is over. I did this once for a Monday night game in bad weather and arrived home at 1:30 in the morning. I too love the atmosphere at Gampel and I understand what is being said just saying it would be tough for some of us to see alot of the games if all were at Gampel. Maybe I am a spoiled fan but that doesn't make the weeknight commutes any easier.
 

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nope it’s not wrong. Storrs, despite its rural surroundings, is centrally located smack dab in the most densely populated part of the country. And if you’d bother to read my argument here, it’s based on the fact that I do not believe the fan base is lazier than those fan bases, just that one particular fan
Lazy describes your rhetoric. Unlike you, I go to games. I know first hand how dead Gampel has been the last few years and how the XL has been the place where the enthusiastic crowds are. I'll say it again and you will ignore it again. UConn fans support Hartford so much better than Storrs. Every game at Gampel, especially on weekdays a large chunk of the best seats in the lower bowl are empty. Those seats are paid for and the seat owners are voting with their feet by not showing up. Not the case in Hartford. Fans that buy tickets, go to games and support the program prefer Hartford. Mouths that don't support the program with cash prefer Gampel, because college or something.
 
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People in the northeast don't like to drive, not just CT. People from KC never seemed to have any problem driving to Lawrence for KU games. Part of it is culture. If you're going to a game, you get to leave work at 3:00. End of story. No questions asked.
Not all of us have that luxury!!
 
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Agreed. This is why the current arrangement works so well for our fan base, despite the constant need to have the same argument here. There is a small fan base in the immediate local vicinity -- that 15k you are listing for Storrs is almost entirely just UConn students and the size of the Storrs/Mansfield immediate region continues to be smaller than any other major basketball power's no matter how big Guapo thinks Lawrence, Kansas is in his mind -- enough within the 45 minutes or so to go to a few games, but unlikely to be close enough to make the commitment for a full season at Gampel. Hartford has a much larger population close enough to attend more frequently and has a larger arena. It's a proven formula that works very well. There are a whole bunch of banners in both buildings because of it. Any discussion should be how to keep the formula that works in play, not how to piss off half our fans.

Yes we’ll just ignore @HuskyHawk’s thoughtful comment about how KU fans leave their offices at 3 on game days in KC. Clearly you are the expert on Kansas.

I think UConn fans would adjust similarly (and I personally know many who do do that for weeknight games at Gampel!)
 
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Lazy describes your rhetoric. Unlike you, I go to games. I know first hand how dead Gampel has been the last few years and how the XL has been the place where the enthusiastic crowds are. I'll say it again and you will ignore it again. UConn fans support Hartford so much better than Storrs. Every game at Gampel, especially on weekdays a large chunk of the best seats in the lower bowl are empty. Those seats are paid for and the seat owners are voting with their feet by not showing up. Not the case in Hartford. Fans that buy tickets, go to games and support the program prefer Hartford. Mouths that don't support the program with cash prefer Gampel, because college or something.

sorry you want an NBA team in Hartford. UConn ain’t it. Maybe the Whalers will come back one day and fill that missing pro-sports hole in your heart.
 

CL82

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that 15k you are listing for Storrs is almost entirely just UConn students
Actually, it's not. Google it if you are curious.
the size of the Storrs/Mansfield immediate region continues to be smaller than any other major basketball power's
I think that is a false metric. Population within reasonable driving distance. What's outiside of Lawrence? More suburbs? Are there 1M within 45 minutes drive?
Hartford has a much larger population close enough to attend more frequently and has a larger arena. It's a proven formula that works very well.
But Hartford is within reasonable driving distance to Storrs. You have to be pretty faint hearted to let a half hour dissuade you from driving to a game.
There are a whole bunch of banners in both buildings because of it.
Mmm, there are a whole lot of banners there because of this guy
1607020617485.png

Any discussion should be how to keep the formula that works in play, not how to piss off half our fans.

I think the real discussion is whether the XL continues to be a viable location; whether it is worth having the state lose in excess of $2m a year to keep it, whether the current accounting is unfavorable to UConn pushing CDRA losses on the AD balance sheet.

Obviously, the FFC fans are passionate and involved and we should look to accommodate them to the greatest extent possible, but that doesn't make the XL any better a venue or the existing deal less unfair to UConn.
 

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FWIW, Hartford is what 35 minutes from Storrs and has a population o 122,000+. Mansfield is 26K, Storrs is 15 etc. but basically the the eastern half of the state is within 45 minutes of Storrs. So that's pretty close to a million people. That doesn't count Mass and RI. There are plenty of people to fill Gampel. That doesn't mean that they will though.

I honestly think the crappy access from I-84 and the inadequate parking and dining options, are as big a problem as the location.

Yes, Fairfield county folks have a long drive. Some would do it anyway. But UConn needs to make it an event that is easy to attend. 195 needs to be expanded. improving 44 from the end of 384 in Manchester (which thankfully does at least now connect to 84) would help as well. Restaurants near campus, with parking need to be available. It needs to be an event. I used to go to weekend soccer games, arrive on campus excided at 11:30 AM and...everything would be closed. Ted's grinders might be open. Alumni want to relive a little bit of their college days when they go to games.

When my friends from KC to to Lawrence for games, they arrive early, head downtown (probably to Free State Brewery), get dinner and a couple of beers, go to AFH, which has a massive garage next to it (shared by the law school fortunately for me in my day), and it's an event.
 

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sorry you want an NBA team in Hartford. UConn ain’t it. Maybe the Whalers will come back one day and fill that missing pro-sports hole in your heart.
You clearly have no understanding of UConn fans and the market. Yet you continue to post.
 
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Mrs Guapo went to UGA and they had a program director who’s job was to find her and other students who wanted to be in DC internships. Many other schools had similar programs.

UConn is very good at attracting students, but the other end (career services, alumni relations etc.) are severely lacking

Lacking is an understatement, especially on fund-raising. I mentioned in another thread recently that UConn's endowment is about $100 Million less than that at a small liberal arts school (1500 students) in Michigan with an endowment of about $550 million. They do it by engaging people with money.

They offer a wide variety of free online programs on interesting topics and host a number of free seminars in different parts of the country that build an affinity for the school even for those who never matriculated there. And those free seminars come with excellent meals, happy hours and great speakers. You just have to pay for your hotel. So, it costs them some serious money upfront but they know who might be a good target by the fact people are willing to pay to travel and stay for the seminar.

My wife and I are grads of UConn and can't recall any similar programming or outreach by UConn. Sure there may be some alumni staff at games like the Charleston Classic and some "receptions" before big games but always "on the cheap".
 
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Yes we’ll just ignore @HuskyHawk’s thoughtful comment about how KU fans leave their offices at 3 on game days in KC. Clearly you are the expert on Kansas.

I think UConn fans would adjust similarly (and I personally know many who do do that for weeknight games at Gampel!)
My final two choices for college were UConn and KU, I know plenty about Lawrence and Kansas which is why I called you out in the first place. Speaking out of your backside about college towns you know nothing about is your move, not mine Mr. Lawrence, Bloomington, Chapel Hill and Charlottesville.

Sure, people leave their offices at 3 p.m. from KC to get to Lawrence for 7. The same as people here have said they do it from Fairfield County and elsewhere for some Gampel games. Having a larger population close by that doesn't have to do anything like that to makes up for the fact that those numbers don't add up to full arenas for an entire season.
 
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I saw a few of UConn's games in Bridgeport. It's a worse basketball arena than Hartford and the atmosphere was far more sterile. It's enough that someone in Fairfield County can go to the Civic Center on the weekend in 50 to 70 minutes. You don't need to move games to Bridgeport. But moving all games to Storrs does cut off a portion of the fan base.

Fair comments, but you also have to mention the Bport games were against bad teams, during late December -- those games would have had the same turnout if they were in Hartford or Gampel.
 
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