Empty promises and empty seats: After 15 years, Rentschler Field struggles to match expectations (Putterman)

[freescooter]

Article was just the usual nonsense. Rentschler was never sold as a big economic development tool. Although at the time Pratt &Whitney envisioned development of the property that had been the airport as a major retail complex. They brought in a retail guy to oversee its development and worked a deal with Honest Johnny Rowland to get the necessary access and utilities brought into the site in exchange for land for a stadium. But at heart the stadium project had 2 goals. First to allow UConn to upgrade its football program and second to protect the basketball program. Allowing P&W to proceed with their plan for the property was only a side benefit. And reality is that East Hartford was only look warm to the project. I love how now the stadium was a failure because it didn’t accomplish what it wasn’t intended to accomplish. That’s like saying Geno has been a failure because his teams have never won an NCAA Cross Country title. While it is true that they haven’t, he wasn’t hired to do that.

I was involved in some of the early planning for the project and this will be a great economic development tool said no one.

 

[UCMB88]

Or UConn vesus Michigan or Baylor and RGIII. Or Landon Donovan's last CAP as a member of the USMNT. Or Women versus Australia in the Tourney iof Nations. Or the Rolling Stones. They all have value. Even UConn versus ECU.

Anyone with a iota of understanding of the value of media would include these in the value of the stadium.

Stop living in the past:

UConn vs. Michigan - 2013
UConn vs. Baylor - 2008
The Police - 2007
Rolling Stones - 2005
Bruce Springsteen - 2003

Rentschler Field is sorely underutilized. Concerts have been non-existent for 12 years. We all know big time football hasn't existed at The Rent for the past 8 years. One big time soccer match per year does not a venue make.

There's precious little media value if there are no big name events.

There's money to be made at stadiums, and Rentschler Field could be an asset for the State instead of a liability. Sadly, the State of Connecticut and Spectra have no vision when it comes to Rentschler Field.

 

[Sportsfan71]

Yeah...that’s the least of our worries

No duh, that was my response to original P...

 

[zls44]

So, in a 20-mile span, there's going to be:

-new soccer stadium on campus
-new soccer stadium in Hartford
-The Rent

...what? How does this make sense to anyone? Stop having 5000 venues for one sport over and over again, maybe you'll save some freaking money.

 

[Woof 101]

Gotta wonder what other earth shattering news is being kept from Husky nation after reading this

Wow, front page headline, an entire page inside of what everyone already knows drivel. The Hartford Courant sad to say has reached the point of misery loves company.

 

[uconnbill]

Wow, front page headline, an entire page inside of what everyone already knows drivel. The Hartford Courant sad to say has reached the point of misery loves company.

Like half the people who post here.

Putterman is a putz

 

[Nostical]

Rentschler was never sold as a big economic development tool....although at the time Pratt &Whitney envisioned a major retail complex.

I live about 10 minutes from Patriot Place.The Rent is an underutilized space - there is opportunity for a 365 day attraction for shopping, dining, and experiences.

Whether the Rent wasn't originally envisioned for economic development, it better be so now. The best hope for getting the most out of the Rent would be putting in a Patriot Place type of development around it. Some multi-use gathering of restaurants, entertainment venues (Kings Bowling?), and shops could change the character of the Rent property as a desired destination. Then if you want to attract concerts and other sporting events to the Rent you have something else to sell-- places for the people to go without the inconvenience of traffic jams and moving their cars. Sometimes you have to create demand with an imaginative project--see Market Street in Lynnfield MA, others like it in Watertown, MA, Dedham, MA and Manchester, CT (Evergreen). I don't know why the outlet mall project failed to materialize but it was a dumb idea to begin with. That's not the type of project with the highest accretive value for the stadium. A Patriot Place concept would be. It would take a developer with some deep pockets and some vision. Maybe we can get Bob Kraft to massage the idea.

 

[Dooley]

I would absolutely love for the new school President to come in and just say F it, we're bonding out $250M and building a 45K completely chair-backed and (now with wifi!!) on-campus football stadium. Give the Rent and its land back to UTC/the state free of charge. Maybe the state turns it into a site for a new arena or strip off the upper deck and turn it into a soccer stadium or they just abandon it and let it crumble in the harsh northeast climate. Whatever. Put football games on-campus and build up a loyal diehard fanbase of students/alumni. In 20 years, maybe alumni will share old war stories about waking up at 11:59AM and stumbling into the stadium still drunk to watch us lose 70-6...and now look at this place completely full and playing against Clemson! Woooo nelly!

And before you quote this and get all upset that this will never happen, I know full well it won't happen. It's just a wish and we can leave it at that.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

How about getting a team from the new Alliance of American Football. They should expand if
it works.

 

[RSTuthill]

Well, whatever goes in on land around the Rent -- or not -- one has to keep in mind that UTX owns all that land and that UTX is not in the development business. So any development that happens is going to come from proposals to UTX for ... development, by developers. I would be surprised if there are any brick and mortar developments being built in the nation right now. The malls in Enfield are dead men walking, ready to expire. Sears is an anchor store at Buckland Hills and they will close. Macy's is on its last legs. If both ends of Bucklands close the place will implode. Evergreen Walk appears to be doing OK but even they could get knocked out by lack of traffic. And everyone here is talking about new development at the Rent? We will be lucky if the Cabelas store stays open.

 

[Waquoit]

If that actually happens, in 20 years you'll be swapping your war stories at soccer games.

 

[ScottBonz]

So, in a 20-mile span, there's going to be:

-new soccer stadium on campus
-new soccer stadium in Hartford
-The Rent



...what? How does this make sense to anyone? Stop having 5000 venues for one sport over and over again, maybe you'll save some freaking money.

So we should play Uconn Soccer and USL at the Rent? No one would play soccer at the rent because its a trash stadium for Soccer. I have season tickets to hartford athletic and there would be no way in hell I'd buy them if they were at the rent.

 

[John]

why aren't there concerts anymore at The Rent? I saw the Police and Springsteen there, both good shows.

 

[CL82]

stumbling into the Memorial stadium still drunk to watch us lose

"Get out of my head Dooley!"

 

[Dooley]

"Get out of my Dooley!"

Ahhhh the good ol' days!

 

[billybud]

It can be done...with $$$$.

Where once was a run down industrial district and low rent housing on the edge of FSU's campus...has now been transformed into Collegetown.

It was the venture of the FSU Boosters Inc. in partnership with developers...restaurants, bars, stores, apartments. Having the area designated as "blighted" and eligible for tax credits attracted investors

Next to campus, the stadium, baseball fields, and basketball center.

Not end all-be all....but still a vibrant area where it once looked bleak.

Welcome to FSU College Town - the Entertainment District in Tallahassee, Florida: Home: FSU College Town at Madison Street

 

[zls44]

So we should play Uconn Soccer and USL at the Rent? No one would play soccer at the rent because its a trash stadium for Soccer. I have season tickets to hartford athletic and there would be no way in hell I'd buy them if they were at the rent.

Ok, except everyone agrees its the best soccer facility in New England. So.

 

[Dooley]

I'd have no issue whatsoever turning the Rent into a soccer stadium. It's a great soccer venue with perfect sight lines for fans who are right on top of the action.

And I also like @LoyalFanCT 's AFL idea. I have actually watched a little of those games and it's not all that bad. Certainly not NFL quality but nothing is NFL quality except the NFL. Should definitely be able to draw a 10K type of crowd more often than not. In other words, the AFL should be able to draw a UConn crowd...on a sunny afternoon...preferably before November.

 

[whaler11]

It’s a wee bit cold for outdoor football when the AAF plays.

Nobody short of the national teams could possibly afford to rent the rent on soccer ticket sales. an mls team would drown under that number.

 

[Waquoit]

The Rent already hosted a minor league FB team and it only lasted one year.

 

[ktuck911]

It's neither here nor there but that stadium should've been built much much closer to campus... or on campus... Now that the old fogies around Storrs/Mansfield have either passed away or relocated to Florida for retirement, and we've squandered Millions of taxpayer dollars on the initial set up, it's put us in a conundrum...

Instability hurt us badly... Yet the facilities (on campus as well as the stadium damn near 30 minutes away) are extremely nice....

Bottom line the powers that be, that think they knew EVERYTHING, that are all loooonnnng gone screwed things up....

 

[Pudge]

I was involved in the original win on the RFP on Storrs Center; and heard those principals discuss Rentschler at about the same timeframe.

Residential. Storrs Center works because of the bodies. The original developers wanted to make it like StudentDISNEYVillage. All kinds of "best of the best" concepts for the retail; pulling from all over the region. What makes Mixed Use work … is solid residential that mix with Placemaking to make an interesting place that you enjoy being at. The idea that Outlet shopping would work in that East Hartford location was at least 15 years too late; with lots of near competition, better located. I have to believe that a "community" aspect is missing in that Silver Lane. It's not too late. The ideas that could work for an empty building are huge. The people running that site seem bankrupt of how to get it done.

That stadium at $92m (PUTTERMAN) would have a comparable total replacement cost to the $250m that is being projected in Minnesota, Cincinnati, Austin for MLS stadiums. It is a damn shame that the Authority is dysfunctional.

 

[ktuck911]

WE need a boatload of billionaire boosters to kick in and help us put a stadium on campus....

 

[UCFBfan]

It’s a wee bit cold for outdoor football when the AAF plays.

I do believe that their goal was to only have southern teams because they play in February so you are correct. There's no shot there will be an AAF team here.

 

[pepband99]

That stadium at $92m (PUTTERMAN) would have a comparable total replacement cost to the $250m that is being projected in Minnesota, Cincinnati, Austin for MLS stadiums. It is a damn shame that the Authority is corrupt and essentially a shell game for graft.

FIFY