Empty promises and empty seats: After 15 years, Rentschler Field struggles to match expectations (Putterman) | Page 4 | The Boneyard

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

Alum86

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How about getting a team from the new Alliance of American Football. They should expand if
it works.
We are getting a Freedom League team, the CT Underground. A league run by kooks like stoner Ricky Williams. Or Not. They are 3rd league after AAF and XFL.
 
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So I looked up the last season they went to a bowl game. Total attendance was around 170k for 6 games. Something like 45 K fewer this season. I guess with a few w's the team can draw.
 
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So I looked up the last season they went to a bowl game. Total attendance was around 170k for 6 games. Something like 45 K fewer this season. I guess with a few w's the team can draw.
Make the Rent Fun Again
 

whaler11

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So I looked up the last season they went to a bowl game. Total attendance was around 170k for 6 games. Something like 45 K fewer this season. I guess with a few w's the team can draw.

attendance this year was 60k. that they print tickets and put them in a dumpster doesnt really matter
 
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UConn should be both the operator and management “company” behind P&W Stadium. Having your primary tenant pay rent AND operational losses while you have at least 2 third parties (CRDA and Global spectrum) call the shots is beyond the pale. Handing over the keys to UConn provides the primary tenant to improve their game day presentation, with an additional incentive to book events and to build upon their program.

It is an absolute lost opportunity that the CRDA/Global spectrum couldn’t find a way to budget for every major high school soccer and football game to be played at The Rent. Why did the public foot the bill for Rentschler if they aren’t allowed to use it for public events?
 
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attendance this year was 60k. that they print tickets and put them in a dumpster doesnt really matter
Yeah I realize the actual number of attendees was much lower than advertised.
 

zls44

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It is an absolute lost opportunity that the CRDA/Global spectrum couldn’t find a way to budget for every major high school soccer and football game to be played at The Rent. Why did the public foot the bill for Rentschler if they aren’t allowed to use it for public events?


Oh, they're allowed to, it's just going to be a financial bath.


Ever wonder why the state championships in Hockey and basketball are at a college rink in new haven and Mohegan sun, respectively?
 
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Nothing less than the first salvo in the campaign to de-emphasize FB. I talked to someone from the UConn Foundation a couple nights ago. I was shocked to hear this person say with conviction that UConn was, "NOT a FB school!! We are a BB school!!"
So true, RST. Seen it, heard it and made that point many months ago when I first picked it up. The first step is trial balloon, informal talking to take a read on how passionate the insider cocktail circuit feels.. lobbyists, state and local officials, town committee type folks with longtime ties at UConn.. to figure out how much political blowback comes. The BOT is not to be trusted at all, most of which are State political cronies. All I can say is I’ve seen it in action and the low level “conversation” is well underway.
 

whaler11

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So true, RST. Seen it, heard it and made that point many months ago when I first picked it up. The first step is trial balloon, informal talking to take a read on how passionate the insider cocktail circuit feels.. lobbyists, state and local officials, town committee type folks with longtime ties at UConn.. to figure out how much political blowback comes. The BOT is not to be trusted at all, most of which are State political cronies. All I can say is I’ve seen it in action and the low level “conversation” is well underway.

putterman seems to be on the payroll
 
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putterman seems to be on the payroll

... and from/living in East Hartford. Made point in Capital Watch podcast about how the PILOT payments to EH never materialized at promised levels and have declined over the years (from $million+ to $69k +/-).
 

whaler11

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... and from/living in East Hartford. Made point in Capital Watch podcast about how the PILOT payments to EH never materialized at promised levels and have declined over the years (from $million+ to $69k +/-).

looking to help kill off local sports when you work as a sports reporter is an odd position to take.

maybe dan harr can encourage all ins companies to move
 
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So true, RST. Seen it, heard it and made that point many months ago when I first picked it up. The first step is trial balloon, informal talking to take a read on how passionate the insider cocktail circuit feels.. lobbyists, state and local officials, town committee type folks with longtime ties at UConn.. to figure out how much political blowback comes. The BOT is not to be trusted at all, most of which are State political cronies. All I can say is I’ve seen it in action and the low level “conversation” is well underway.
Yeah, I think that what is new is the orchestration. Getting Putterman to serve as a mouthpiece. The ground is being prepared for a certain bitter seed. HCRE2.0 better have a better year this year or FB may be beyond saving. I rather think the new Prez may try to block this emerging bandwagon, however.
 

nelsonmuntz

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Everyone knows I am lukewarm at best about the football program for a lot of reasons. That said, UConn's problems go much deeper than the stupid stadium. Location is a problem, but that problem is Storrs, not East Hartford or Hartford. Storrs is in the middle of nowhere, is expensive to support, and results in duplicative costs. UConn 2000 wrapped up 20 years ago, and the school is only 10-20 years away from another major construction facelift. It is not worth spending another nickel on that Storrs campus.

I think UConn should move the entire school to Hartford over the next 20 years, and turn Storrs into a satellite campus for eastern Connecticut, at maybe 10-20% of its current size. You could put most of the university downtown just by taking over abandoned buildings or buying the ones that were still on life support for pennies. I would make the XL Center the center of the "campus", and shrink the arena down to 10k seats. I would turn the rest of that building into classrooms and dorms. There are probably 15 abandoned or semi-abandoned buildings within 3 blocks of the XL Center that could be turned into classrooms or housing relatively cheaply.

Moving the school to Hartford would save the school and Hartford, which is effectively saving the state from a pending problem when Hartford ultimately face plants. It would bring students closer to their recruiters, put them in an urban setting that will be more vibrant and interesting, and eliminate the constant hostility between the school and the locals in eastern Connecticut.

I would start by moving the Business School to Hartford. Graduate School could be moved in a couple of years, and then transition the undergrads over the next 10. Engineering would go next, then eventually the humanities. Every graduate program could be based out of Hartford within 10 years, and the final transition could be done within 20 years.

If THAT was the school's plan, then an East Hartford stadium would be more viable.
 

ConnHuskBask

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Everyone knows I am lukewarm at best about the football program for a lot of reasons. That said, UConn's problems go much deeper than the stupid stadium. Location is a problem, but that problem is Storrs, not East Hartford or Hartford. Storrs is in the middle of nowhere, is expensive to support, and results in duplicative costs. UConn 2000 wrapped up 20 years ago, and the school is only 10-20 years away from another major construction facelift. It is not worth spending another nickel on that Storrs campus.

I think UConn should move the entire school to Hartford over the next 20 years, and turn Storrs into a satellite campus for eastern Connecticut, at maybe 10-20% of its current size. You could put most of the university downtown just by taking over abandoned buildings or buying the ones that were still on life support for pennies. I would make the XL Center the center of the "campus", and shrink the arena down to 10k seats. I would turn the rest of that building into classrooms and dorms. There are probably 15 abandoned or semi-abandoned buildings within 3 blocks of the XL Center that could be turned into classrooms or housing relatively cheaply.

Moving the school to Hartford would save the school and Hartford, which is effectively saving the state from a pending problem when Hartford ultimately face plants. It would bring students closer to their recruiters, put them in an urban setting that will be more vibrant and interesting, and eliminate the constant hostility between the school and the locals in eastern Connecticut.

I would start by moving the Business School to Hartford. Graduate School could be moved in a couple of years, and then transition the undergrads over the next 10. Engineering would go next, then eventually the humanities. Every graduate program could be based out of Hartford within 10 years, and the final transition could be done within 20 years.

If THAT was the school's plan, then an East Hartford stadium would be more viable.

And it's a small ask at that!
 

nelsonmuntz

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And it's a small ask at that!

My prediction: UConn will piss money away piecemeal on both campuses and accomplish nothing in the process. Eventually one or both of Gampel and XL will fail completely, and who knows what happens next when that occurs. The athletic program will continue its slow motion decline, and the school will lose any luster it had as the campus ages and the state funding continues to get cut.

UConn is approaching another major capital investment for the campus, and I don't think they should spend another nickel in Storrs.
 

HuskyHawk

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I live about 10 minutes from Patriot Place, home of Gillette Stadium. It started with just the stadium, but now has a bunch of restaurants, bars, and stores - even a medical center. It is ALWAYS packed. And, it is about 20 minutes from a similar complex (without stadium) in another town. Never mind being 40 minutes from Boston and Providence. The Rent is an underutilized space - there is opportunity for a 365 day attraction for shopping, dining, and experiences.

Same. We go there regularly. The reality, if people are smart enough to see it, is that ex-urban outdoor spaces that mimic a walkable urban environment are very popular. I just spent last week at The Domain in Austin, TX. It's like Legacy Place X100.

The area around the Rent could absolutely be like Patriot Place.
 

ConnHuskBask

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My prediction: UConn will piss money away piecemeal on both campuses and accomplish nothing in the process. Eventually one or both of Gampel and XL will fail completely, and who knows what happens next when that occurs. The athletic program will continue its slow motion decline, and the school will lose any luster it had as the campus ages and the state funding continues to get cut.

UConn is approaching another major capital investment for the campus, and I don't think they should spend another nickel in Storrs.

How have they not accomplished anything in Storrs? It's a beautiful campus and a top flight university.

I agree with everything you're saying regarding athletics though.
 

HuskyHawk

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Everyone knows I am lukewarm at best about the football program for a lot of reasons. That said, UConn's problems go much deeper than the stupid stadium. Location is a problem, but that problem is Storrs, not East Hartford or Hartford. Storrs is in the middle of nowhere, is expensive to support, and results in duplicative costs. UConn 2000 wrapped up 20 years ago, and the school is only 10-20 years away from another major construction facelift. It is not worth spending another nickel on that Storrs campus.

I think UConn should move the entire school to Hartford over the next 20 years, and turn Storrs into a satellite campus for eastern Connecticut, at maybe 10-20% of its current size. You could put most of the university downtown just by taking over abandoned buildings or buying the ones that were still on life support for pennies. I would make the XL Center the center of the "campus", and shrink the arena down to 10k seats. I would turn the rest of that building into classrooms and dorms. There are probably 15 abandoned or semi-abandoned buildings within 3 blocks of the XL Center that could be turned into classrooms or housing relatively cheaply.

Moving the school to Hartford would save the school and Hartford, which is effectively saving the state from a pending problem when Hartford ultimately face plants. It would bring students closer to their recruiters, put them in an urban setting that will be more vibrant and interesting, and eliminate the constant hostility between the school and the locals in eastern Connecticut.

I would start by moving the Business School to Hartford. Graduate School could be moved in a couple of years, and then transition the undergrads over the next 10. Engineering would go next, then eventually the humanities. Every graduate program could be based out of Hartford within 10 years, and the final transition could be done within 20 years.

If THAT was the school's plan, then an East Hartford stadium would be more viable.

Hartford is dead. Nobody wants a fully urban UConn campus. I wouldn't have gone there if it was in Harford. You want a city school go to Trinity, BU or Fordham or something. Hartford proper doesn't even have the land to create a campus like U Washington or U Minnesota have in the city.

You're thinking backwards. Turn Storrs into an economic engine. Develop it to the max. Screw Mansfield NIMBYs, the state should override and create development zones everywhere around there, and update the connection to 84. Turn it into a proper college town, one people who graduate from want to stay in. UConn health center should have been built at the junction of 44 and 195. Build in mixed use retail and office buildings. Give some big biotech companies huge tax breaks to locate there. Turn it into something more like Lawrence, KS or Chapel Hill, NC.
 

UConnNick

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Yeah, I think that what is new is the orchestration. Getting Putterman to serve as a mouthpiece. The ground is being prepared for a certain bitter seed. HCRE2.0 better have a better year this year or FB may be beyond saving. I rather think the new Prez may try to block this emerging bandwagon, however.

He damn well better. Another round of clueless direction from the Office of the President regarding athletics and we'll be condemned to some new sort of I-AA purgatory forever.
 

the Q

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Hartford is dead. Nobody wants a fully urban UConn campus. I wouldn't have gone there if it was in Harford. You want a city school go to Trinity, BU or Fordham or something. Hartford proper doesn't even have the land to create a campus like U Washington or U Minnesota have in the city.

You're thinking backwards. Turn Storrs into an economic engine. Develop it to the max. Screw Mansfield NIMBYs, the state should override and create development zones everywhere around there, and update the connection to 84. Turn it into a proper college town, one people who graduate from want to stay in. UConn health center should have been built at the junction of 44 and 195. Build in mixed use retail and office buildings. Give some big biotech companies huge tax breaks to locate there. Turn it into something more like Lawrence, KS or Chapel Hill, NC.

Remind me again why you aren’t on the ballot compared to all the clown car idiots I had to select from?

You’d win in a landslide
 

the Q

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Everyone knows I am lukewarm at best about the football program for a lot of reasons. That said, UConn's problems go much deeper than the stupid stadium. Location is a problem, but that problem is Storrs, not East Hartford or Hartford. Storrs is in the middle of nowhere, is expensive to support, and results in duplicative costs. UConn 2000 wrapped up 20 years ago, and the school is only 10-20 years away from another major construction facelift. It is not worth spending another nickel on that Storrs campus.

I think UConn should move the entire school to Hartford over the next 20 years, and turn Storrs into a satellite campus for eastern Connecticut, at maybe 10-20% of its current size. You could put most of the university downtown just by taking over abandoned buildings or buying the ones that were still on life support for pennies. I would make the XL Center the center of the "campus", and shrink the arena down to 10k seats. I would turn the rest of that building into classrooms and dorms. There are probably 15 abandoned or semi-abandoned buildings within 3 blocks of the XL Center that could be turned into classrooms or housing relatively cheaply.

Moving the school to Hartford would save the school and Hartford, which is effectively saving the state from a pending problem when Hartford ultimately face plants. It would bring students closer to their recruiters, put them in an urban setting that will be more vibrant and interesting, and eliminate the constant hostility between the school and the locals in eastern Connecticut.

I would start by moving the Business School to Hartford. Graduate School could be moved in a couple of years, and then transition the undergrads over the next 10. Engineering would go next, then eventually the humanities. Every graduate program could be based out of Hartford within 10 years, and the final transition could be done within 20 years.

If THAT was the school's plan, then an East Hartford stadium would be more viable.

I think you’re gonna see some of that different schools at different campuses, but they’re all in on Stamford. And the business school would go there
 

UConnDan97

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I think I just read that we should move the entire UConn campus to Hartford.

I mean, I'm used to reading outlandish ideas from some of the most certifiable folks on the internet. But somehow, this one takes the cake...
 

nelsonmuntz

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I think I just read that we should move the entire UConn campus to Hartford.

I mean, I'm used to reading outlandish ideas from some of the most certifiable folks on the internet. But somehow, this one takes the cake...

Status quo has worked out great for UConn.
 

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