Governor Malloy Won't Push For Costly XL Center Upgrades | Page 10 | The Boneyard

Governor Malloy Won't Push For Costly XL Center Upgrades

Drew said:
XL Center Attracts Just One Suitor In Bid For Private Investment

The agency that oversees the operation of the city's XL Center drew just one response after seeking out private investors willing to take on a portion of the $250 million makeover of the aging arena, easing the burden on state taxpayers.

The Capital Region Development Authority said it garnered three inquiries from investor groups and one "expression of interest" from XLR Partners, led by Washington, D.C.-based Savage Funding, a firm that specializes in assembling groups to pursue public-private partnerships.

Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA's executive director, said drawing one response was not unexpected.

"Is it disappointing? No. Would I have liked more? Yes," Freimuth said.

CRDA sought the proposals after some legislators said the state could not afford to foot the entire bill for the makeover when the state was in the midst of a budget crisis.

The response from XLR does not include a specific proposal, just a willingness to explore options. CRDA will interview XLR in the next few weeks and determine if it is feasible to move forward, Freimuth said.

In reaching out to the private sector, CRDA must balance the desire to cut public funding with how much control over the project it is willing to give up to investors.

Freimuth attributed the single response to the uncertainty that swirls around the project.

It isn't yet known how much, if any, state funds will be set aside for the project in the next two years. The legislature's finance, revenue and bonding committee backed $75 million over the next two fiscal years, half of the $125 million recommended by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

But whether those funds will be included in the state's capital plan for the next two years won't be known until legislators adopt a budget. It is expected a budget won't be adopted until after the start of the next fiscal year, beginning July 1.

In addition, the legislature might be required to pass a special statute because the XL Center project isn't likely to fit into the existing 2011 state law setting out the requirements for public-private partnerships.
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Why has no one questioned the $250 million cost of the arena . The Bridgeport Arena , in 2016 dollars, was $76 million. Granted, there should ne more seats in Hartford, but something seems out of proportion. Although when I look at the new baseball stadium for $75 million so far I guess the $250 million doesnt look to bad.
Before everyone jumps on me I have been to Bridgeport a few times and find it much better than the current XL center. Good site lines and much more user friendly.
 
CL82 said:
Why is it their issue? Because they compete against it? I'm having trouble seeing that logic.
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Because they're supposed to benefit the State? How is exactly is them putting the XLC out of business good for CT or the 1.2m people who live in the metro region? It's really not hard to grasp.
 
TheDoggPound said:
Because they're supposed to benefit the State? How is exactly is them putting the XLC out of business good for CT or the 1.2m people who live in the metro region? It's really not hard to grasp.
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Why are they supposed to benefit the state any more that you are? They generate pay a considerable amount of taxes and generate much more. I don't see an argument that forces them to subsidize the CDRC more than that.
 
Pound: give it up. The Injuns owe us diddly.
 
TheDoggPound said:
Because they're supposed to benefit the State? How is exactly is them putting the XLC out of business good for CT or the 1.2m people who live in the metro region? It's really not hard to grasp.
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Lol what?
 
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Looking good... looks like steel, not the shoddy PVC piping that threatens players with injuries and bouncing pucks that the 1 billion $ arena Barclays Center refuses to address.

 
ct06111 said:
Looking good... looks like steel, not the shoddy PVC piping that threatens players with injuries and bouncing pucks that the 1 billion $ arena Barclays Center refuses to address.

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Looks like they got it right!
 
ct06111 said:
Looking good... looks like steel, not the shoddy PVC piping that threatens players with injuries and bouncing pucks that the 1 billion $ arena Barclays Center refuses to address.

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I've skated on nearly every rink in the state of CT and the XL ice is BY FAR the worst!! I mean.. it's not bad, it's horrible! Glad they are making these changes because every time I step on this ice I can't understand how an AHL and D1 hockey program skate there! Hope these modifications fix the issues of soft ice and continuous wet spots.
 
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So does this mean that there will NOT be an on campus hockey rink for home games? Wasn't a rink on campus one of the requirements / conditions of acceptance from Hockey East?
 
SubZero said:
So does this mean that there will NOT be an on campus hockey rink for home games? Wasn't a rink on campus one of the requirements / conditions of acceptance from Hockey East?
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I wouldn't count on it any time soon based on the cost. I think Uconn has been able to hold off the Hockey East mandate that there be a rink on campus due to the high attendance numbers the XL has provided.
 
FDNY99 said:
It looks like that $115 million that was in the Democrats budget for the XL Center upgrade is gone with that budget not passing the Senate today. It's not in the Republican budget, the state aid for Hartford is gone as well.
Link to Courant Article:
Senate Votes For Republican Budget, Malloy Promises Veto

Link to Budget that passed:
"AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE."

Link to Budget that failed:
Read The Democratic Budget Budget Bill
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Good. Shut that dump down if need be. Lipstick on a pig. Having it around has not neen the panacea everyone imagined
 
Alum86 said:
Good. Shut that dump down if need be. Lipstick on a pig. Having it around has not neen the panacea everyone imagined
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At the end of the day..UConn can play hoops on campus, and it will force them to do something for hockey on campus sooner than later. If you want to talk about saving $$ in the athletic department you can start right there by not paying to play games at the XL Center.
 
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Stop the madness. Please realize that if the XL Center does not get upgraded, then Connecticut might as well tell the world we don't care about the sports industry (i.e. professional, college, and high level amateur) at all. XL would be torn down and next would be a mothballing of The Rent. Play that string out further - that means we're out of the AAC and possibly back to a Big East II style conference as a "Catholic/Ivy" style AD.

Not trying to be dramatic, just telling it like I see it.
 
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What about all the great fundraising that supposedly happened last year? Take money from that, run a capital campaign, and build an on campus hockey rink. It is obviously the funds are not there for the XL Center and the state will not give more funds in the future to UCONN to build on campus due to huge budget issues.
 
Who Ha said:
I agree. The problem is it is too big of an arena for a mid major and minor league hockey team
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what would be an ideal size? 10K, 12K? The basketball games the past few years have been too empty feeling.
 
John said:
what would be an ideal size? 10K, 12K? The basketball games the past few years have been too empty feeling.
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For strictly college, if sharing BB and hockey, would be in the ~13-14K range with a seating bowl configuration that'd allow for ~7-8K in the bottom level and the top curtained off for hockey. Thing is, that would only work on campus. Building that in Hartford would make no sense, it'd be too small for major pro sports and major concerts, too big for minor league sports. There's also really no reason to build that in Storrs since Gampel is more than sufficient as it stands.

If the state continues to threaten to screw UConn over, I'd love to see them completely pull out of playing any games in Hartford. The arena and surrounding businesses would crumble without those home events there, while the programs would likely thrive with a completely on-campus environment. Though the hockey team would need a facility built.
 
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brasssbonanzaa said:
For strictly college, if sharing BB and hockey, would be in the ~13-14K range with a seating bowl configuration that'd allow for ~7-8K in the bottom level and the top curtained off for hockey. Thing is, that would only work on campus. Building that in Hartford would make no sense, it'd be too small for major pro sports and major concerts, too big for minor league sports. There's also really no reason to build that in Storrs since Gampel is more than sufficient as it stands.

If the state continues to threaten to screw UConn over, I'd love to see them completely pull out of playing any games in Hartford. The arena and surrounding businesses would crumble without those home events there, while the programs would likely thrive with a completely on-campus environment. Though the hockey team would need a facility built.
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so similar to the Worcester Centrum (or whatever they call it now)
 
Well - if you want to keep the doors open, maybe some bus routes could be eliminated:

Old story below, but my guess is the numbers haven't changed much. CT provides a massive subsidy to Capitol Area bus transportation.
Yearly Taxpayer Cost To Operate CTfastrak Jumps 75 Percent From Original Estimate

The latest figures supplied by Connecticut's DOT suggest that CTfastrak will bring in a projected $4.9 million in fares in its first year toward an operating budget of $22.4 million. If those numbers hold, that means fares will cover about 22 percent of the bills; taxpayers will pick up the remaining $17.5 million.
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
For strictly college, if sharing BB and hockey, would be in the ~13-14K range with a seating bowl configuration that'd allow for ~7-8K in the bottom level and the top curtained off for hockey. Thing is, that would only work on campus. Building that in Hartford would make no sense, it'd be too small for major pro sports and major concerts, too big for minor league sports. There's also really no reason to build that in Storrs since Gampel is more than sufficient as it stands.

If the state continues to threaten to screw UConn over, I'd love to see them completely pull out of playing any games in Hartford. The arena and surrounding businesses would crumble without those home events there, while the programs would likely thrive with a completely on-campus environment. Though the hockey team would need a facility built.
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UCONN purposely trying to destroy downtown Hartford would result in less money for UCONN due to less taxes paid by business in that area and the surround area.
 
SubZero said:
UCONN purposely trying to destroy downtown Hartford would result in less money for UCONN due to less taxes paid by business in that area and the surround area.
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UConn in Hartford makes less and less sense (basketball-wise)
 
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