Future of the XL Center as a Home Site

[BPT2Storrs]

I was a student at Storrs, so I get a good chunk of your argument and I agree. It was great seeing games on campus (though I also went to the Civic center). And I have never and will never complain about the students not turning up. I'm fine with more games being played at Gampel.

That being said, I stand by the idea of continuing to play games in Hartford. Kemba above mentioned what I think is a reasonable suggestion.

And someone else mentioned this already, but it's not an "extra 30 minutes" for half the state. I spent a few years living in the Southwest corner of the state and I95 is absolutely brutal anytime other than 6am on a Sunday morning. It can literally take an hour to move 10 miles during rush hour and there's an accident every single f@ing day

Hartford can’t find a way to fix the XL, can’t find a way to improve our transportation system and is cutting $150M from our state’s land grant university. In all honesty, what do our policymakers actually do?

 

[willie99]

While I’m not exactly an XL fan, I do believe in the value of having a modern arena in the capitol city as is done everywhere else in the country.

UConn currently has two arenas that are enthusiastic and loud…and operational nightmares on game day. It’s got to be fixed. But it also should not be at the end of a shotgun just to support Max downtown.

The terms UConn has are completely insane and unlike those anywhere else in the sport. They serve the CRDAs interest and hurt UConn, who is the only real tenant of note. It’s dumb!

Hey, I love Max Downtown, one of our go to places on gameday

No need to throw them under the bus

 

[RC111]

Hartford can’t find a way to fix the XL, can’t find a way to improve our transportation system and is cutting $150M from our state’s land grant university. In all honesty, what do our policymakers actually do?

Honestly, I've lived in several countries overseas and traveled extensively. It's a US problem in general. Don't get me started on what South Korea is able to accomplish with the same (or oftentimes less) money. It's like a magical fantasy kingdom of services and efficiency that's run on a fraction of what our government pulls in.

But I still want 3 or 4 games in Hartford each year. Or even 1 compromise game at the Bridgeport arena, though I don't live in that part of the state.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The parochial mindset of CT residents with over 160 distinct cities/towns/villages allows for the mindet that 90 minutes is a long way to travel to support state U.

State is gonna have to make a decision on replacing XL. If the state builds a niver facility and it's beneficial to UConn as a state flag ship go for it. But it will need to be replaced.

I doubt they can expand Gampel to 13k-14k in its current footprint. Even a major upgrade is over $100m. I would think $200m is in play.

As a non-resident who has no tax dollar skin in the game, I'd rather just see the accounting mechanisms that put UConn athletics in the worst light every year when the reports come out showcasing college sports spending.

If CT is flush with cash from tax revenue and the source of the cash is sustainable, seems like a tax break is reasonable but it's also a good time to make some big one-time purchases.

 

[CTMike]

Not true. You can look up the renovation scenarios to see how major renovations would modernize the building similarly to what happened at MSG.

Ok

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Ok

Ok, ok.

 

[BIIIG]

Liar. You don’t have better offerings where you live. I don’t live in Hartford. Something tells me the same person protesting income taxes is also scared of cities. For whatever reason. Did you crawl out of Andover or Killingly to go to Hartford to protest the presidential election results too?

Your name is literally "XL CenterFan"

 

[XLCenterFan]

"There's no problem" ??? uhhhh for someone who goes to Hartford so much, how on earth are you saying there is no problem. Go to downtown Hartford on a Saturday at noon, good luck finding a bar that's both Open and has games on. Drive through Hartford at rush hour and you'll notice there is absolutely zero traffic. Post work happy hour, everyone's heading to West Hartford and Glastonbury. Saying "there's no problem" in Hartford just outlines how out of touch you are where Hartford currently stands

My statement of “there’s no problem” was in response to another’s statement that suggested “it’s a problem when the only time people go to Hartford is for the St Pattys Day parade.” I am suggesting that there’s PLENTY to do in Hartford besides that parade. I provided many instances. I’m in Hartford at least once a week. You? If you’re the type to avoid the places I listed, then do so. No one wants you around with your snobby anti-Hartford sentiment.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Good God, this nonstop nonsense comparing the two arenas is silly, inaccurate and short sited

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

and the crowd was great last night

It’s a raging debate that will never end. Enjoy it.

 

[huskymedic]

Alternate access link <<

 

[Kolumbo]

The athletic department is running a deficit every year. The CDRA charging the university lease costs well above fair market rental is a large part of that deficit. It’s not only the exorbitant cost to play the XL but it’s also the lost money that playing again, but would have made.

But here’s the thing, Whatever the economic affect of UConn playing in Hartford is, it happens just the same whether UConn regardless of what you do University pays to the XL Center. So if the state wants us playing in Hartford, they should charge us lease rates that make it economically desirable to be there. The only thing the high lease rates do is make the CDRA’s ineptitude look less bad.

I wouldn't care who made the profit if it were either the university or some other state department. Problem is there are too many hands in the pot and Spectra is the party making the profit, I would think. Hartford owns XL. CDRA manages it. Spectra operates it. What a disaster. If it were an on campus university owned facility, it would surely be a much better financial alternative.

"The XL Center (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) under a lease with the city and operated by Spectra."

 

[Beowulf]

i just wish Hartford was half the city providence is

 

[Palatine]

i just wish Hartford was half the city providence is

The Worcester Red Sox say hello. woof.

 

[karstenkibbe]

St John's Carnesecca Arena holds 5602 for seating. It looks like a high school gym and I could never figure out how the Big East allowed them to build such a small arena. Here is a picture:

You couldn’t figure out how the Big East allowed SJU to build the arena because it was built in 1961, two decades before the Big East was created.

 

[Beowulf]

The Worcester Red Sox say hello. woof.

I wish Hartford was half the city worcester is too. Half joking

My statement was more of a pro-providence statement than anything, but having been to enough hartford-tier cities across the country in my lifetime, im absolutely floored by what we let them get away with.

 

[CL82]

The UConn operating budget is like $3.3Bn (all campuses and medical).

State is proposing a $160M cut (assuming just for storrs/regional campuses).

The UConn President "threatening" publicly (first mistake) to pull games out of Hartford and pointing to the financial hardships that amount of a rounding error in the scheme of things comes off very ineffectual.

The state has publicly supported UConn athletics with votes of confidence in spite of us falling behind our regional peers in terms of top line rev due to no media deals (and in footballs case playing in front of sparse crowds for years) and now this President thinks it's the time to play hard ball publicly?

Lol, somehow you seem to believe that subsidizing the CDRA, and as @Kolumbo points out, Spectra management is a claim of right that the university must bear. It isn’t.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Lol, somehow you seem to believe that subsidizing the CDRA, and as @Kolumbo points out, Spectra management is a claim of right that the university must bear. It isn’t.

Nice strawman.

What's cheaper "subsidizing" those agencies or picking a fight with the state that could sour support for UConn athletics (particularly football, which people on this very board have called for to be deep sixed).

The terms of the deal aren't great for UConn but the tradeoff is ultimately worth it. Further if you're that angered by it, get a meeting w the state and discuss like an adult as opposed to a jilted lovers Facebook post.

 

[karstenkibbe]

As someone who has worked in the sports industry for almost 30 years, I just want to make a few points. None of this is opinion. Just facts. React as you wish.

- The $40k per game XL venue rental is not above market rate, nor is it outlandish. I haven’t negotiated an arena deal since pre-Covid, but I was involved in rental negotiations for non-soccer events at three MLS venues in the summer of 2022. Those single day rental fees were between $85k and $140k.

- The CRDA can lower that $40k rental fee because they have the power to do so.

- Not much can be done about those approximately $25k/game ticket fees Stephanie Ritz is complaining about.

- For those saying that ancillary revenue is inconsequential chump change… you are simply wrong. May I remind you that the narrative about the Whalers leaving town due to poor attendance is nothing more than a complete myth. The team had a healthy, if unspectacular, season ticket base and about a third of the NHL teams had lower average attendance than the Whalers. The Whalers demise had everything to do with the fact that the team received almost no money from parking, concessions and suite revenue.

 

[BIIIG]

My statement of “there’s no problem” was in response to another’s statement that suggested “it’s a problem when the only time people go to Hartford is for the St Pattys Day parade.” I am suggesting that there’s PLENTY to do in Hartford besides that parade. I provided many instances. I’m in Hartford at least once a week. You? If you’re the type to avoid the places I listed, then do so. No one wants you around with your snobby anti-Hartford sentiment.

UConn plays Creighton at 2PM on Saturday. Go to downtown Hartford and find a game watch. Go to downtown Hartford and find a bar that is open and has at least 20 ppl in it. Its only a ranked game, could be potential turning point of the season, so naturally if there's going to be a great spot to watch the game it should be right where they play half their games, right in downtown Hartford, right? Let me know how you fair

 

[CL82]

Nice strawman.

What's cheaper "subsidizing" those agencies or picking a fight with the state that could sour support for UConn athletics (particularly football, which people on this very board have called for to be deep sixed).

The terms of the deal aren't great for UConn but the tradeoff is ultimately worth it. Further if you're that angered by it, get a meeting w the state and discuss like an adult as opposed to a jilted lovers Facebook post.

Lol, It’s not a strawman it’s exactly the issue and trying to dance around it doesn’t change that.

Again, the notion that the state legislature would stop funding for football as a punishment for Connecticut not playing basketball in Hartford is just vapid. As noted above doing that would come at an enormous political cost.

(But congratulations on evolving your threat from saying the state would stop funding higher education at at its leading public university to the state would stop funding for football, which isn’t a budget line item that can be cut by the way. It’s a nominally better position. Not much better, but baby steps, right?)

 

[Chin Diesel]

As someone who has worked in the sports industry for almost 30 years, I just want to make a few points. None of this is opinion. Just facts. React as you wish.

- The $40k per game XL venue rental is not above market rate, nor is it outlandish. I haven’t negotiated an arena deal since pre-Covid, but I was involved in rental negotiations for non-soccer events at three MLS venues in the summer of 2022. Those single day rental fees were between $85k and $140k.

- The CRDA can lower that $40k rental fee because they have the power to do so.

- Not much can be done about those approximately $25k/game ticket fees Stephanie Ritz is complaining about.

- For those saying that ancillary revenue is inconsequential chump change… you are simply wrong. May I remind you that the narrative about the Whalers leaving town due to poor attendance is nothing more than a complete myth. The team had a healthy, if unspectacular, season ticket base and about a third of the NHL teams had lower average attendance than the Whalers. The Whalers demise had everything to do with the fact that the team received almost no money from parking, concessions and suite revenue.

On your last point, isn't there a difference between a private entity trying to be profitable through revenue streams compared to a state university getting the revenue from parking, concessions, suite or it going to the state's revenues?

 

[XLCenterFan]

UConn plays Creighton at 2PM on Saturday. Go to downtown Hartford and find a game watch. Go to downtown Hartford and find a bar that is open and has at least 20 ppl in it. Its only a ranked game, could be potential turning point of the season, so naturally if there's going to be a great spot to watch the game it should be right where they play half their games, right in downtown Hartford, right? Let me know how you fair

You’re basing “things to do in Hartford” around one thing to do. Not smart. And something tells me you never venture into Hartford. And your argument is what? UConn shouldn’t play in Hartford because when there’s an away game there is nowhere to watch the game in Hartford?

 

[CL82]

As someone who has worked in the sports industry for almost 30 years, I just want to make a few points. None of this is opinion. Just facts. React as you wish.

- The $40k per game XL venue rental is not above market rate, nor is it outlandish. I haven’t negotiated an arena deal since pre-Covid, but I was involved in rental negotiations for non-soccer events at three MLS venues in the summer of 2022. Those single day rental fees were between $85k and $140k.

- The CRDA can lower that $40k rental fee because they have the power to do so.

- Not much can be done about those approximately $25k/game ticket fees Stephanie Ritz is complaining about.

- For those saying that ancillary revenue is inconsequential chump change… you are simply wrong. May I remind you that the narrative about the Whalers leaving town due to poor attendance is nothing more than a complete myth. The team had a healthy, if unspectacular, season ticket base and about a third of the NHL teams had lower average attendance than the Whalers. The Whalers demise had everything to do with the fact that the team received almost no money from parking, concessions and suite revenue.

Good info, thanks for posting! Just curious, what was the capacity at the venues you rented. I would think that most MLS venues are 18,000 or more.

If I recall correctly, UConn pays an additional “facilities fee” in the neighborhood of $20,000-25,000, in addition to the $40,000 lease fee and the three dollar per ticket surcharge. I am very confident that the only other long-term tenant in the building is not paying that much.

 

[Waquoit]

Hey, I love Max Downtown, one of our go to places on gameday

No need to throw them under the bus

We went to Sorella. It was packed yet the service and food were excellent. I still laugh at the fact that the biggest Hartford haters don't even go to games.

 

[Waquoit]

My statement was more of a pro-providence statement than anything, but having been to enough hartford-tier cities across the country in my lifetime, im absolutely floored by what we let them get away with.

What are they getting away with?