East Hartford’s Rentschler Field needs $63 million upgrade, new study says. ‘like walking into a time capsule’

[huskymedic]

Background threads: Rentschler Field managers urge state to upgrade the stadium




Alternate access link here <<

-> A top-to-bottom study of East Hartford’s Rentschler Field — home to the University of Connecticut’s football team — recommends $63 million in improvements to ensure the venue keeps up with evolving Division 1 standards. The cost of the renovations to the state-owned, 38,000-seat stadium, which turns 20 next year, could be spread out over five years. The investment would carry the stadium through the next 10-15 years. <-

-> The renovations would cover new roofs and the replacement of aging elevators and a broad spectrum of building systems; dealing with major water leaks; and upgrading technology, especially for game broadcasts, that has been outdated for years. <-

-> Now was a logical time to pursue the study, which cost $330,000, because of the age of the building, coupled with the expiration of the lease and other management agreements, Freimuth said. “So, all these things are kind of queuing up,” Freimuth said. <-

Edit: Jump to post #124 for actual study documents

 

[huskymedic]

 

[CL82]

You’re welcome CDRA.

 

[coachcap]

This is not a shock. The blueprints were copies of Louisville's stadium which has already been renovated. Question is how fast the State acts on this recommendation.
AND, if the State DOES decide to approve the reno job, does it also approve the stadium expansion that is already blueprinted?

 

[LIuconn]

It was a piece of garbage when I first went in 2005. The most basic design. Want people there? Put covers over the seats like most European soccer stadiums. Even the 20-30k seaters have it

 

[husky8273]

Alternate access link here <<

-> A top-to-bottom study of East Hartford’s Rentschler Field — home to the University of Connecticut’s football team — recommends $63 million in improvements to ensure the venue keeps up with evolving Division 1 standards.

The cost of the renovations to the state-owned, 38,000-seat stadium, which turns 20 next year, could be spread out over five years. The investment would carry the stadium through the next 10-15 years. <-

-> The renovations would cover new roofs and the replacement of aging elevators and a broad spectrum of building systems; dealing with major water leaks; and upgrading technology, especially for game broadcasts, that has been outdated for years. <-

-> Now was a logical time to pursue the study, which cost $330,000, because of the age of the building, coupled with the expiration of the lease and other management agreements, Freimuth said. “So, all these things are kind of queuing up,” Freimuth said. <-

The article says the turnstile count at Syracuse was 15,657. The box score on the AD website shows 25,114.

 

[huskymedic]

The article says the turnstile count at Syracuse was 15,657. The box score on the AD website shows 25,114.

There’s always a disconnect between tickets sold/distributed and butts in seats (been that way for decades and it’s not just @ UConn and not just for CFB).

 

[hinson32]

The article says the turnstile count at Syracuse was 15,657. The box score on the AD website shows 25,114.

Colleges use tickets distributed and not turnstyle count.

 

[WNConn]

Unfortunately a colossal waste of money to pour into a stadium so far from campus with virtually no use outside of UConn football, but way cheaper than an on campus stadium build. Wish we could just ditch the renovation and build 25k on campus

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Lot of money. Build a stadium in Storrs. Give the Rent to Central CT, have them join the Colonial.

 

[CL82]

Lot of money. Build a stadium in Storrs. Give the Rent to Central CT, have them join the Colonial.

Because Central Connecticut doesn’t deserve a renovated stadium?

Well if any of you out there are billionaires, now is the time to write a check for an on-campus stadium.

(The Rent is a great place to see a game without a bad seat in the house and the tailgating is tremendous. I love the place. I would just love it more if it were located on campus.)

 

[Patman]

Unfortunately a colossal waste of money to pour into a stadium so far from campus with virtually no use outside of UConn football, but way cheaper than an on campus stadium build. Wish we could just ditch the renovation and build 25k on campus

Thank you for your interest in Connecticut football...

 

[KembaKek]

$68 million to play at a stadium closer to CCSU? Might as well just put down $300 million for an on-campus place. Playing in EH has never made sense and never will.

 

[Exit 4]

The article says the turnstile count at Syracuse was 15,657. The box score on the AD website shows 25,114.

The staff has a habit of not bothering to scan tickets. They didn't scan my group this time....like most times really. Scanner too slow.

 

[KembaKek]

Yeah I get waved in all the time. There was probably a good number over 20k there on saturday

 

[freescooter]

The staff has a habit of not bothering to scan tickets. They didn't scan my group this time....like most times really. Scanner too slow.

I was going to write exactly that. Though in my case, the scanner wouldn’t work after the first ticket so they just said go ahead in.

FWIW, THOUGH I think 25000 is much closer than 15 for last Saturday’s game.

 

[Hoophound]

I was going to write exactly that. Though in my case, the scanner wouldn’t work after the first ticket so they just said go ahead in.

FWIW, THOUGH I think 25000 is much closer than 15 for last Saturday’s game.

Yep. No way that was only 15k. Maybe the scanners can be upgraded too.

 

[LBird33]

Background threads: Rentschler Field managers urge state to upgrade the stadium




Alternate access link here <<

-> A top-to-bottom study of East Hartford’s Rentschler Field — home to the University of Connecticut’s football team — recommends $63 million in improvements to ensure the venue keeps up with evolving Division 1 standards. The cost of the renovations to the state-owned, 38,000-seat stadium, which turns 20 next year, could be spread out over five years. The investment would carry the stadium through the next 10-15 years. <-

-> The renovations would cover new roofs and the replacement of aging elevators and a broad spectrum of building systems; dealing with major water leaks; and upgrading technology, especially for game broadcasts, that has been outdated for years. <-

-> Now was a logical time to pursue the study, which cost $330,000, because of the age of the building, coupled with the expiration of the lease and other management agreements, Freimuth said. “So, all these things are kind of queuing up,” Freimuth said. <-

330 thousand for the study Good god we got taken on that contract

 

[gampelcrazies]

IMO not worth throwing any money at it unless it’s in the 100s of millions. And thats not going to happen. It’s a dump. Not a bad place to watch a game but it’s a complete eyesore that lacks sooo much.

 

[History Geek]

The staff has a habit of not bothering to scan tickets. They didn't scan my group this time....like most times really. Scanner too slow.

Me too. I had 8 all on my phone. Scanned mine and waved the rest of my party through.

 

[AzHusky]

You need to spend the money even if the building is given to CCSU. It is no longer up to date. Everything gets old and worn out after 20 years and needs to be refurbished. There are people who say build a new one on campus because it makes no sense to have it in East Hartford. My question is where, do most of the people who attend the games come from? Is East Hartford easer for them to get to? We all know the tail gating is great there because of all the space. Would it be the same on campus?

 

[hardcorehusky]

How often are the elevators used? It's not like the place is occupied 365 days a year!!

Since this is UConn's home for football and I have been going since Day 1, l welcome the renovations.

 

[Kolumbo]

Here we go again. I really wish they would just build on campus. And why are nutmeggers the only college fans in the country concerned about distance to the campus.

 

[ChampHusky]

Here we go again. I really wish they would just build on campus. And why are nutmeggers the only college fans in the country concerned about distance to the campus.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the football mindset of many places where people drive 3 hours to attend games in places like State College.

 

[giddyup]

The stadium does its job. You sit your butt in the seat and watch a game on a field. There is no need to spend that kind of money. Fix basic structural items to manage its life and let it be. The media infrastructure costs and other keep up with Jones expenses are an absolute joke. Until this program produces. They need to sit tight.

 

[Devland]

These stadium/arena threads bring out the whiners.

 

[jdb50]

The article says the turnstile count at Syracuse was 15,657. The box score on the AD website shows 25,114.

The lower Bowl was basically full. Great job students! If the turnstile count was 15,657 then many fans were not scanned properly. This article has the wrong number from the number of fans that were there. This was the largest crowd in years. Many wore Orange on their side of the field but when we scored it was loud. People are ready to go and I hope we can keep some of our best threats on offense healthy for the second half of the season.

 

[BugsyCT]

$68 million to play at a stadium closer to CCSU? Might as well just put down $300 million for an on-campus place. Playing in EH has never made sense and never will.

It made sense the first 10 years when the team was way better and the Rent was getting at least 30-35K every game. Having the stadium just outside of Hartford between two of CT's major highway arteries made for easier & quicker access for fans & alumni living throughout the state. The Rent was rockin' for a lot of games back then and, although it wasn't a vintage college football atmosphere, the Rent was a pretty raucous place and they had some memorable games.

Unfortunately, when CR hit and the program got worse, so did everything else, and you know the rest.

 

[BugsyCT]

The lower Bowl was basically full. Great job students! If the turnstile count was 15,657 then many fans were not scanned properly. This article has the wrong number from the number of fans that were there. This was the largest crowd in years. Many wore Orange on their side of the field but when we scored it was loud. People are ready to go and I hope we can keep some of our best threats on offense healthy for the second half of the season.

Been to enough games to get a pretty good sense of the attendance numbers - looking around that stadium at peak (2nd qtr) there were at least 20k in the seats. (A lot of orange on the press box side, but overall a good 20k+.)

 

[freescooter]

Of course I suspect they have not spent money on regular maintenance as they should have. Part of this is the setup. The owner is one state agency, the operator is a different one who subs out part of the management to a private corporation ( private sector blah blah blah, it means you pay retail for everything) and maintenance is the prerogative of yet another agency. Plus it is 20 years old so likely there are systems that are in need of replacement and repair. Oh, and nobody involved in the operation has the authority to borrow to pay for upgrades. It is guaranteed to be a mess…