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

[HuskyAlum012]

Nope- not really going to move on. What are we- of 131 schools how many have off campus stadiums? Three perhaps; Pitt, USF who is now building a stadium because it’s FL who has a growing pop and growing economy, and UCLA?

Temple

 

[Exit 4]

Temple

Yep - true. Two comments; Temple has tried to get approvals for an on campus stadium...its a serious goal for them. And, at least the Linc is just 8.3 miles away on the other side of the same city.

 

[Palatine]

I think they should play all the football games at Gampel.

 

[ZooCougar]

Preferences:

1. On Campus Stadium-Not happening move on.
2. Fix the Rent. Plug all the leaks, install the media and other utilities to ensure it can support world class broadcasts of whatever happens there be it UConn Football, NCAA Lax, Soccer etc.

If you are against this then you are too stupid for words. Don’t respond to me.

3. Allow the Rent to continue to devolve into a dilapidated eyesore like RFK Stadium.

If you are against 2, then you are for 3.

 

[gtcam]

For what it’s worth Mansfield approval isn’t necessary for any project that is undertaken entirely on university property.

I don’t disagree with your premise that Rentschler field is footballs home and will be for the for seeable future, I just don’t see the need to add mythology saying that a field “can’t“ be built in Storrs. It can, on existing land already owned by the University, without the need for dramatic infrastructure to the surrounding roads, and without the need for the approval of the PRM.

I agree
Yet we all know that there will be extreme pressure from the residents that live near any stadium construction and then the environment people will find a speckled salamander that will be adversely effected, the noise pollution and the added vehicle emissions etc etc. The University has plenty of land that could accommodate a project of that size but it is sports/entertainment related so it will be met with plenty of protest, $500 Million would be the starting point but the way Washington DC is printing money these days and with party politics - Lamont (if he is still governor) picks up the phone, the Senators get a photo op and the check is in hand.
Football should be played on or within walking distance of the campus for many reasons but it isn't happening in the next decade or better

 

[CONN78SEJ]

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

Lots of areas on campus to build too. An on campus stadium would help the program, and I think the on campus students would not mind it either. Useful for other sports too.

 

[CL82]

Preferences:

1. On Campus Stadium-Not happening move on.
2. Fix the Rent. Plug all the leaks, install the media and other utilities to ensure it can support world class broadcasts of whatever happens there be it UConn Football, NCAA Lax, Soccer etc.

If you are against this then you are too stupid for words. Don’t respond to me.

3. Allow the Rent to continue to devolve into a dilapidated eyesore like RFK Stadium.

If you are against 2, then you are for 3.

Sort of. There’s a middle ground that involves the CDRA actually caulking the joints that are leaking. They used to do that but they stopped “in anticipation of a major renovation.” The flexseal I posted was only half a joke. The leaking at the columns can be entirely stopped via caulking, which is normal maintenance consistent with the original design.

So I think the middle ground is to do the normal maintenance but not invest the money to install fiber optics. For six games a year, the crew can come in and lay the extra cable. Obviously, that depends upon cost, but if we’re talking a half million for caulk and 63.5 million to install a world-class fiber optic system, I think I’d go just with the caulk.

Yeah, I know that’s an oversimplification and there are more than those two items on the list, but I think you do the routine maintenance to maintain the structure and do not upgrade it until there is an actual demand that warrants the investment.

 

[DoctorWho85]

how about abandoning the POS and going back to Storrs where UConn athletics actually belongs

So I'm guessing you don't think the basketball teams should play outside of Gampell then too at a significantly smaller venue?

 

[DoctorWho85]

Not talking about an interstate or mega highway.

But simple things like four laning the road for stretches, doubling lanes at intersections, making roads feasible for one direction traffic, some basic drainage and lighting improvements can all be done but take money.

Widening 195 in general even without the stadium would help with traffic on campus a lot

 

[Patman]

They should throw as little money at it as possible. Fix anything that might be dangerous or cause larger issues down the road. It doesn't need any upgrades. No one is going to show up anyway until we can prove that we can be a competitive team again. Why spend $60mm to make it last 15 more years when we may not even have a program in 15 years.

Thank you for your interest in Connecticut football

 

[ZooCougar]

Sort of. There’s a middle ground that involves the CDRA actually caulking the joints that are leaking. They used to do that but they stopped “in anticipation of a major renovation.” The flexseal I posted was only half a joke. The leaking at the columns can be entirely stopped via caulking, which is normal maintenance consistent with the original design.

So I think the middle ground is to do the normal maintenance but not invest the money to install fiber optics. For six games a year, the crew can come in and lay the extra cable. Obviously, that depends upon cost, but if we’re talking a half million for caulk and 63.5 million to install a world-class fiber optic system, I think I’d go just with the caulk.

Yeah, I know that’s an oversimplification and there are more than those two items on the list, but I think you do the routine maintenance to maintain the structure and do not upgrade it until there is an actual demand that warrants the investment.

The Fiber is a necessity. Without it you are driving away potential events.

Other than why they fell behind basic maintenance I’m wondering why it doesn’t have more events.

I’m all for doing a sanity check on the proposed line items but when you don’t invest in maintenance and necessary upgrades this is what happens.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

$200m-$250m for an on campus stadium??? Lol. I want some of what you are drinking.

UConn just spent $70m for a 2500 sest hockey arena.

A 40k seat stadium similar in size and amenities to the Rent would be at least $400m, probably closer to $500m.

And that wouldn't include other state funding for infrastructure needed for area roads.

Don't forget to add the after-the-fact $100-200m additional that would be needed when "unanticipated problems with the construction" and "unexpected cost overruns" develop (a la Dunkin Donuts Park, the current XL Center Sportsbook "let's put a hole in the wall before we have something to fill it with" fiasco", etc., etc.).

 

[huskymedic]

Sort of. There’s a middle ground that involves the CDRA actually caulking the joints that are leaking. They used to do that but they stopped “in anticipation of a major renovation.” The flexseal I posted was only half a joke. The leaking at the columns can be entirely stopped via caulking, which is normal maintenance consistent with the original design.

Ben sez otherwise

From a year ago:

-> Cracking silicone caulking along every row of seats, in restrooms and around concession stands is to blame. The sealant is supposed to funnel rain to drains, but two decades of freezing in the winter and baking in the summer has damaged it.

“This isn’t like caulking your bathroom tub,” Ben Weiss, general manager of the stadium and the XL Center in Hartford, said, during a stadium tour. “That’s what I would think, too. Why don’t they just caulk it? No, this is a massive amount. It’s more than an annual maintenance thing. This is a major capital investment.”

If it was laid end-to-end, the sealant would run for miles, making keeping up with patching a losing proposition, Weiss said. <-

 

[SubbaBub]

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

Its 0.5%. Taken depends on how thorough the study is and whether or not it misses anything that might be a surprise later. The cost is very much inline.

 

[SubbaBub]

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

People here don't have any idea what places like PSU spend on game day capital improvements and operations.

The people here would choke on what it would cost to actually build and operate an on campus stadium for 40k fans and 20k cars.

 

[BigTenFan]

Most on this board want UConn Football to play in a great environment - myself included.
The problem is - if you polled 1000 CT residents....999 would say 'Not one dime back'

 

[HCCForever]

I feel like most concerts are at the casinos now.

The Stones were there as well in 2005. I attended all three concerts over 4 nights and enjoyed the experience. Of course, I know where to park and was not stuck as many others in traffic trying to exit.

 

[Hogoff]

This nugget regarding South Carolina stadium was published this week in Sports Illustrated.

DUMP: Williams-Brice Stadium, South Carolina (35). It’s not on campus, instead occupying space adjacent to the state fairgrounds. They’ve improved the joint and its surroundings, but it still feels like you’re at a generic location in a metropolitan area.

That’s false! Been to dozens of South Carolina games. Williams Brice is far from a dump.

 

[ZooCougar]

Most on this board want UConn Football to play in a great environment - myself included.
The problem is - if you polled 1000 CT residents....999 would say 'Not one dime back'

My guess is they would say that about most things.

You can’t have a stadium sitting around and rotting like that.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I think the open concourse is one of the perks of The Rent. I like to walk around.

An idea which doesn't solve any of the issues per se, but a compromise. Build the stadium at the crossroads of I-84 and route 195 in Tolland so it can be seen from the highway. It would still be off campus by about 7 miles, but much easier to get to for students, no traffic on game day, and a very visible welcome sign for visitors going to UCONN. with some place called Electric Blue across the highway.

Electric Blue should pay for naming rights for a UConn Stadium.

 

[phillionaire]

That’s false! Been to dozens of South Carolina games. Williams Brice is far from a dump.

No, I'm pretty sure it's in Columbia still

 

[husky8273]

thanks for the list. Off the top, you can’t include any “off campus” stadium that is within 4 to 6 miles- at that range you are close enough. For instance Oregon is merely over the river from the campus, a situation that is pretty much akin to being on campus. I haven’t looked at your others- but Navy jumps out- the campus and school are very close.

Miami is a good one- 21 miles from campus to Hard Rock. We are about 22 miles between the Rent and Storrs

Northwestern's stadium is walking distance from the campus. Northwestern University Campus Maps

 

[buddy]

Most on this board want UConn Football to play in a great environment - myself included.
The problem is - if you polled 1000 CT residents....999 would say 'Not one dime back'

If one reads the Hartford Courant article comments, the responses are overwhelmingly negative. Some of the commenters who are opposed to UConn football are even alumni!

 

[Kolumbo]

Plenty o' room

 

[CL82]

“This isn’t like caulking your bathroom tub,” Ben Weiss, general manager of the stadium and the XL Center in Hartford, said, during a stadium tour. “That’s what I would think, too. Why don’t they just caulk it? No, this is a massive amount. It’s more than an annual maintenance thing. This is a major capital investment.”

I’m just spitballing here on the numbers, but I’m guessing that it’s probably less than $64 million to cailk the stadium. I’d be willing to caulk the stadium for, I don’t know, $30 million.

If it was laid end-to-end, the sealant would run for miles, making keeping up with patching a losing proposition, Weiss said

That’s why am I post above a link to the extra large tub of flexseal.

For what it’s worth, this was the article“ that I remembered:

“We’re waving the yellow flag on this”? How about you do that your job and maintain the stadium annually so it doesn’t fall behind and require a multi million dollar investment to catch up on the work you should’ve been doing every year.

The CDRA is the most inapt “quasipublic“ agency I’ve ever seen, and that is a pretty low standard. These guys consistently miss manage and lose money for every property they operate. Football stadiums, little soccer fields, the XL Center, all different types of agencies all losing money. What’s the common denominator? They’re all run by the CDRA.

 

[CL82]

The Fiber is a necessity. Without it you are driving away potential events.

Other than why they fell behind basic maintenance I’m wondering why it doesn’t have more events.

I’m all for doing a sanity check on the proposed line items but when you don’t invest in maintenance and necessary upgrades this is what happens.

And which potential events did we lose out on because of the lack of a $64 million investment in fiber optic cable? That’s kind of critical information to know, right? Otherwise it’s impossible to evaluate whether they would be any ROI in making the expenditure.

The upgrade to fiber optics isn’t maintenance. The caulking that they stopped doing, that’s maintenance and it should’ve been done annually. Their not doing annual maintenance, for years, hides their lack of profitability because after things get bad enough they talk about the need for to make a capital investment which is really the disguised catch-up cost for all the annual maintenance they’ve been blowing off.

 

[Kolumbo]

I’m just spitballing here on the numbers, but I’m guessing that it’s probably less than $64 million to cailk the stadium. I’d be willing to caulk the stadium for, I don’t know, $30 million.

That’s why am I post above a link to the extra large tub of flexseal.

For what it’s worth, this was the article“ that I remembered:
View attachment 79063
“We’re waving the yellow flag on this”? How about you do that your job and maintain the stadium annually so it doesn’t fall behind and require a multi million dollar investment to catch up on the work you should’ve been doing every year.

The CDRA is the most inapt “quasipublic“ agency I’ve ever seen, and that is a pretty low standard. These guys consistently miss manage and lose money for every property they operate. Football stadiums, little soccer fields, the XL Center, all different types of agencies all losing money. What’s the common denominator? They’re all run by the CDRA.

The Rent is turning out to be one big caulk sucker.

 

[BlueandOG]

The Rent is our current and future home for at least 20 more years. That may change If we get into a major conference with real money. I recommend we invest in the Rent and work to find other non-football uses for the space. I live 10 minutes from Patriot Place where the Pats play. They have bars, restaurants, stores, hotels all around the perimeter of the stadium. It is a destination for more than football.

 

[gampelcrazies]

63 million is a joke. It needs a lot more. Crazy how the Rent is becoming the new Civic Center. They can't do anything right when it comes to these buildings.

 

[LBird33]

Preferences:

1. On Campus Stadium-Not happening move on.
2. Fix the Rent. Plug all the leaks, install the media and other utilities to ensure it can support world class broadcasts of whatever happens there be it UConn Football, NCAA Lax, Soccer etc.

If you are against this then you are too stupid for words. Don’t respond to me.

3. Allow the Rent to continue to devolve into a dilapidated eyesore like RFK Stadium.

If you are against 2, then you are for 3.

There are leaks at the rent ? I’m shocked