Ruffian, I agree with you completely. But my understanding is that the UConn contract with XL guarantees that all off-campus home games during the regular season are played there, in Hartford. Games in other regional venues are thus prohibited. That leaves us with the remote possibility of seeing UConn play an exhibition in Bridgeport. This season the options are Assumption (now scheduled for Gampel) and Pace (XL). Which forces us back to those cozy bench seats in Gampel, no matter what Geno says.
Sounds like poor negotiating skills.
If UConn really agreed that all off-campus home games are played at XL, neither side had a clear view of their best interests.
Consider the contract from the XL point of view. Why on earth would they care, for a game not played at the XL center, whether it was played at Gampel, Bridgeport or Podunk Iowa? So they negotiated and received a "concession" that grants them no benefit.
However, before concluding that XL blundered in Contract negotiations 101, UConn did worse. UConn has no ability to play a home game anywhere other than Gampel or XL. There's a number of reasons they might wish to play a home game elsewhere, and they've given up the option.
Obviously, there is more to this contract that just this clause, but if there are no other clauses constraining locations, UConn can solve the problem.
They can simply ask that the contract be renegotiated to allow them the option to play home games at other locations.
Before you protest that XL isn't about to give up their strong position, UConn actually has some negotiating power. (Again, assuming the described contract provision is accurate, and there are no other provisions determining location.)
Simply declare that next year, UConn will play all of its games at Gampel or XL, per provisions of the contract, and all games will be at Gampel.
Obviously, XL isn't interested in this happening. Equally obviously, what XL really wanted is some minimum number of games, not enforcement of a rule that home games not at XL are at Gampel. If XL wants nine games, they want nine games, they shouldn't care where the other games are played. Of course, UConn is not interested in playing all games at Gampel, it would give up too much revenue. But they could hold it out as a bargaining chip, and then renegotiate a sensible contract. XL was expecting n games? Give them n games. Then they get what they want, and have the ability to schedule their own remaining games wherever they please.
UConn also has one other point of leverage, again, depending on the rest of the contract. Play Fairfield in Bridgeport, and call it a home game for Fairfield. Which it is. Who knows, maybe they could even play North Carolina in Bridgeport and call UNC the home team. Perhaps there is some other rule that declares that a team cannot be a home team is they travel farther than the opponent, but again, as I said, my solutions are premised on the assumptions that there aren't other provisions affecting location. Even if there is a rule that the closest team is the home team, they could play Yale, or Hartford in Bridgeport, and let Yale or Hartford be the home team. (There must not be a rule that the closest team is deemed the home team, or the Hartford -UConn game in XL would have been a home game for Hartford, and I don't think it was.)
