Gampel update

[CL82]

There's a board of trustees meeting today. The 30+ million dollar renovation budget is getting pushed up to $99 million. New concessions to be included.

 

[GHSWolverines]

3 times over the budget!

 

[HuskyAlum012]

There's a board of trustees meeting today. The 30+ million dollar renovation budget is getting pushed up to $99 million. New concessions to be included.

Wasn't this always supposed to be $100M

Gampel Pavilion to undergo $100M renovation, seeking start in 2026

Gampel Pavilion is set for its first major renovation since opening in 1990, with the $100M project expected to start in earnest in 2026.

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

 

[CL82]

Wasn't this always supposed to be $100M

Gampel Pavilion to undergo $100M renovation, seeking start in 2026

Gampel Pavilion is set for its first major renovation since opening in 1990, with the $100M project expected to start in earnest in 2026.

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

Based on that article, it looks like it, but they are voting to increase from 30M to 99M. But to your point, it may always have been intended.

 

[HooperScooper]

The funding increase will support the construction phase of the project, encompassing roof repairs, interior renovations, installation of fixed seating structures, expansion of interior and exterior spaces, and IT system upgrades within the new seating structure and lower bowl. It will also enable the UConn to retain the services of a Construction Manager to oversee the remaining project phases.

So this isn't an increase of the cost, it's just that the additional money of the original budget needed to be approved. Why wouldn't they just approve the total budget from the beginning?

https://www.nhregister.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/article/gampel-renovation-uconn-board-of-trustees-21221079.php

The RuffRuff Alternate Access™:

UConn Board of Trustees approves funding for completion of Gampel Pavilion renovations​

 

[Palatine]

Here's an illustration of the new concourses.

 

[HooperScooper]

Here's an illustration of the new concourses.

View attachment 114172

Still a little narrow aren't they?

 

[John]

Here's an illustration of the new concourses.

View attachment 114172

more like

 

[Austin316]

There's a board of trustees meeting today. The 30+ million dollar renovation budget is getting pushed up to $99 million. New concessions to be included.

USF is building a football stadium from scratch for $350M. We’re doing renovations/expansion to an already built basketball arena and it costs $100M? That’s crazy to me.

 

[UCLJ0211]

Where can they expand the building?

 

[Kolumbo]

I didn't get to see the game last night and videos like this may have been posted but whoa nelly! We really sold ourselves short when we built Gampel. I always feel like we're throwing more money at past projects but always come up short. Whatever they do with Gampel, they should only do it if it increases seating by another 5k which seems impossible. And $100 million? That seems like a brand new pavilion with 15k seats.

This place is insane!! Check out the video

 

[HooperScooper]

And $100 million? That seems like a brand new pavilion with 15k seats.

Maybe way back in 1989. Lol. Today probably $500 million. At least.

 

[superjohn]

It cost $58 million combined to build the Civic Center and Gampel. Around $300 million has been spent renovating them.

 

[Kolumbo]

Maybe way back in 1989. Lol. Today probably $500 million. At least.

No way a brand new Gampel would cost more than $100 mill. It's a concrete cylinder with a high maintenance $$ roof. Very bad design. Look at Allen Fieldhouse with far more seating

 

[BFieldHusky]

No way a brand new Gampel would cost more than $100 mill. It's a concrete cylinder with a high maintenance $$ roof. Very bad design. Look at Allen Fieldhouse with far more seating

You obviously don't know construction costs in the Northeast in 2025.

 

[HooperScooper]

No way a brand new Gampel would cost more than $100 mill. It's a concrete cylinder with a high maintenance $$ roof. Very bad design. Look at Allen Fieldhouse with far more seating

Not to be rude, but you have no clue. Go ask someone in construction or architecture who is involved with building stadiums. And by the way, they would not use that same roof design today.

I do know that TD Garden in Boston cost about $160 million to build in the early 1990s (delivered in 1995). And the former owners who just sold the Celtics were told a few years ago that to replicate the Garden would cost about $1 billion today. That's without land.

 

[superjohn]

No way a brand new Gampel would cost more than $100 mill. It's a concrete cylinder with a high maintenance $$ roof. Very bad design. Look at Allen Fieldhouse with far more seating

Baylor's new basketball arena only seats 7,500 and cost $213 million. To build that same 7,500 size arena in Connecticut you're easily spending $300 million.

 

[Kolumbo]

Baylor's new basketball arena only seats 7,500 and cost $213 million. To build that same 7,500 size arena in Connecticut you're easily spending $300 million.

I get some are much more expensive but for what you get with Gampel, it shouldn't compare. No fancy metal or brick design, no windows, no amenities, nothing. Just a concrete silo.

 

[HooperScooper]

Baylor's new basketball arena only seats 7,500 and cost $213 million. To build that same 7,500 size arena in Connecticut you're easily spending $300 million.

Probably even more if it cost $213 million in Waco, TX. The difference in construction costs between states in the Northeast and southern states is huge.

 

[HooperScooper]

I get some are much more expensive but for what you get with Gampel, it shouldn't compare. No fancy metal or brick design, no windows, no amenities, nothing. Just a concrete silo.

Yeah but they wouldn't build the same thing today so it's irrelevant.

 

[BFieldHusky]

Probably even more if it cost $213 million in Waco, TX. The difference in construction costs between states in the Northeast and southern states is huge.

I believe I read that MetLife in NJ cost more to build than AT@T Stadium in Dallas. They have a retractable roof.

 

[Kolumbo]

Not to be rude, but you have no clue. Go ask someone in construction or architecture who is involved with building stadiums. And by the way, they would not use that same roof design today.

I do know that TD Garden in Boston cost about $160 million to build in the early 1990s (delivered in 1995). And the former owners who just sold the Celtics were told a few years ago that to replicate the Garden would cost about $1 billion today. That's without land.

No offense taken. But you are comparing luxury automobiles to a vw bug. Gampel is an awful design. It's not the size but the simplicity which makes it "cheap"

 

[Kolumbo]

Yeah but they wouldn't build the same thing today so it's irrelevant.

Actually that was exactly the point. But they would be crazy to build this design today. They should implode it

 

[Kolumbo]

More importantly, why spend another $100 million additional on what was a mistake in the first place

 

[superjohn]

More importantly, why spend another $100 million additional on what was a mistake in the first place

Because Connecticut always kicks the can down the road and it would be incredibly unpopular to tell the state they need to come up with $500 million for a new building they will play half their games in.