New XL Center

[CL82]

I read that report and seems like there is a whole lotta of bun without much beef. NHL is a fantasy. Agents don't the see the current of revised arena as a good venue for there product. So you are basically are relying on Disney on ice and the Wolfpack and UConn. As to UConn:
The Consulting Team interviewed University of Connecticut Athletic administrators and Board members. Athletic administrators indicated that there was a desire to have upgraded on-campus venues, but expressed a willingness to play in the Arena if an agreement was reached that provided the University with more revenue. University Board members indicated that the University needed to under take a more aggressive approach to the sale of tickets and the monetization of revenue streams at the Arena.

The report emphasizes the need for UConn to increase it's promotions utilizing the athletic department. I don't see a whole lot of fulfilling a need. I do see a whole lot of wishful thinking.

JMHO.

 

[SubbaBub]

Hartford would be much better off investing in the burying of 84 and 91 than in sponsoring an elaborate arena. At least with 84 they actually have a chance to do it and they'll blow it.

There is the little matter of two rivers that make that impossible.

 

[8893]

You cherry pick one restaurant while ignoring the others that have opened and been successful: front street theater, capital grille (which put morton's out), nix's, bears, salute, montana grille, infinity hall and sorella's.

How awesome is Bear's, right? I honestly haven't had a better BBQ in too many other places.

So I never heard of Bear's until reading about it in this thread last week. Did a little googling and saw that the NYT gave it an "excellent" rating, so I figured it was worth a shot. Grabbed lunch there today (3 meat combo with ribs, wings and burnt ends; mashed sweet potatoes and green beans for sides). I was surprised at how hard it was to find the place, even when it was right under my nose (and has been probably at least a half-dozen times since they opened). For those who don't know, it's the same building as Arch Street Tavern.

The place definitely was abuzz with the 30-something to 70-something, primarily male crowd, and it is the right concept (a concept I first saw in Texas around 20 years ago and thought about opening back here then). Kind of a strange space, but they seem to use it well. Very friendly and effective service. I thought the food was very good (high quality and well prepared), but I didn't love the BBQ taste. I tried it plain, with spicy BBQ sauce and with the Kansas City sauce and was underwhelmed with all. It is good for Northeast BBQ, but I think Tiano in Middletown tastes better--both the meats (smoked wings, brisket and pork) and sides. I know BBQ taste preferences can be very subjective, so it may just be my taste preference here.

Good place though. Definitely the kind of place of which Hartford can use more. I'll try Capital Grille next time.

Oh, and for those who don't know, the cafeteria in the library is also a very good place to grab lunch now (soups, salads, sandwiches, etc.). Nice, bright, roomy space.

 

[The Viking]

What you guys are overlooking is that cities like Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago....support other major league franchises. The Penguins or Bruins in a down year aren't the only game in town. Hartford has NOTHING else and still couldn't get 10k at their games.

Ill tell you what. When I'm wrong, the NHL moves a team here and they draw well? I'll admit I am wrong. Until then, keep your excuses spinning and your head stuck in the sand.

I'll tell you what, get your head out of the sand and look stuff up. The only year the whalers didn't average over 10000 was 1979.
How nice of you to find an excuse for pittsburghs hideous ticket sales which were far worse than hartford's. Another great smear job by a so-called whalers fan.

 

[Deepster]

I'll tell you what, get your head out of the sand and look stuff up. The only year the whalers didn't average over 10000 was 1979.
How nice of you to find an excuse for pittsburghs hideous ticket sales which were far worse than hartford's. Another great smear job by a so-called whalers fan.

The only year they didn't average over 10,000? What does that prove? Why is a crowd of 10,000 - 11,000 "good"?

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/

Here's the site I have used. Other than a 2-3 year period, find me ANYTHING that would prove this city consistently supported that team. I don't want to hear about Ron Francis being traded or them stinking. Quite frankly, they're likely to stink again if we got another team. Then what? Good sports cities support teams. Hartford isn't a good sports city. It's not that tough.

 

[superjohn]

The only year they didn't average over 10,000? What does that prove? Why is a crowd of 10,000 - 11,000 "good"?

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/

Here's the site I have used. Other than a 2-3 year period, find me ANYTHING that would prove this city consistently supported that team. I don't want to hear about Ron Francis being traded or them stinking. Quite frankly, they're likely to stink again if we got another team. Then what? Good sports cities support teams. Hartford isn't a good sports city. It's not that tough.

So in this post you are saying you don't want to hear any reasons for why attendance was low and Hartford is a bad sports city, just because. Ok gotcha, that was enlightening.

 

[Deepster]

So in this post you are saying you don't want to hear any reasons for why attendance was low and Hartford is a bad sports city, just because. Ok gotcha, that was enlightening.

Every team trades a popular player.
Every team has a bad stretch.

Tell me why the city deserves a professional franchise. There isn't even uniform agreement on getting a MINOR league baseball team in here.

 

[Waquoit]

F U to the students. Another in a long, long line.

You just stop that crybaby right now, Junior. Today's UConn students have it better now than in any other time it it's history.

 

[superjohn]

Every team trades a popular player.
Every team has a bad stretch.

Tell me why the city deserves a professional franchise. There isn't even uniform agreement on getting a MINOR league baseball team in here.

I won't prove or disprove why Hartford does or doesn't deserve a team. When they had a team they deserved better management, trading away every good player you ever had and never putting a winner on the ice is a horrible way to run a team and a horrible way of selling tickets whether you are in Hartford, Pittsburgh or any other city.

 

[Waquoit]

Good crowd that night, whatever the reason. .

It was Hartford Hockey Heritage night! Celebrating 40 years of pro hockey in Hartford. Good time. I'll PM you when they schedule Hartford Hockey Haters night.

 

[FartMan69]

Every team trades a popular player.
Every team has a bad stretch.

Tell me why the city deserves a professional franchise. There isn't even uniform agreement on getting a MINOR league baseball team in here.

Yes every team has a bad stretch and some have poor management but unlike most franchises that is all the Whalers knew. Bad teams and awful, awful management. The years they were good they drew well. See the pattern? You do but you wont admit it because it wouldn't cater to the classic negative CT attitude that clearly plagues you.

 

[FartMan69]

It was Hartford Hockey Heritage night! Celebrating 40 years of pro hockey in Hartford. Good time. I'll PM you when they schedule Hartford Hockey Haters night.

It must be a coincidence anytime they schedule a Whalers night the place is packed

 

[FartMan69]

It seems to me that many CT residents have an inferiority complex. They consider their state capital to be big time. Reality however clearly says it isn't. There is nothing wrong with that. Hartford is a 2nd tier city that adequately serves the region well. It has some issues but it has some pluses. We don't need a first tier big city and many of the issues that come with it (traffic, extremely high RE, affordability, crime, etc...). If you want a big city vibe, NYC and Boston are just short drives away.

I think the bigger problem is how people in CT literally go out of their way to complain and trash the very own state they live in. You will not find this anywhere else in the country. It's quite unique that we have the inability to grow past the whiny teenage angst stage of life.

 

[Deepster]

I think the bigger problem is how people in CT literally go out of their way to complain and trash the very own state they live in. You will not find this anywhere else in the country. It's quite unique that we have the inability to grow past the whiny teenage angst stage of life.

And you know this how?

 

[Palatine]

And you know this how?

Read the comment section in the Courant. It's shocking how much people rip on the state and the city.

It's almost like they don't realize they have voted themselves into the situation they seem to despise.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I'll tell you what, get your head out of the sand and look stuff up. The only year the whalers didn't average over 10000 was 1979.
How nice of you to find an excuse for pittsburghs hideous ticket sales which were far worse than hartford's. Another great smear job by a so-called whalers fan.

The Whalers didn't make the playoffs for 10 years and were still getting over 10,000.
That's an incredible fact.
LI after their great run was over was getting 5,ooo . New Haven still had the Nighthawks which took away from Whaler support.
A respectable team would have no trouble getting 15,000 a game
Filling the arena ,is not the problem for
An NHL team.
The problem is and was the TV market is so small especially when shared with so many teams.
The competition with ,Bruins , Rangers, Devils,and Islanders For TV eyeballs doomed the Whalers. The right TV deal is the key to sucess.

 

[Hoophound]

I think the sad thing about Hartford going to crap is that it was once the finest city in the country. It was beautiful and wealthy and had fantastic theater and culture. It was once the place to be.

The city was literally destroyed by the interstate running through it. By moving it out of the way, Hartford would organically return to some level of glory before too long. Unfortunately, very few people seem to care anymore. They don't know what they are missing by not having a lively city at their disposal. Hopefully, people will fill all the new apartments and breed a generation that cares about Hartford.

 

[Northbound]

First off, it's not a fact. Second, I've ignored it because it's a stupid misinformed statement.

Buffalo is a small market team. Worst record in the NHL so far this season. Feb 10, a Tuesday night, home against .500 Ottawa? The attendance was 19,070. Thursday, January 15, home against Minnesota? The attendance was 18,963. What's your excuse now?

Hartford doesn't get a pass for not showing up because the team sucked. It's a sports town with fans.

I've been scanning this thread and for the life of me i don't know what the hell "deserve a team" means. I respond to that like Bob Knight responded to the "game face" questions.

Anyone can go back through time and pull attendance figures that correlate to team performance (look at the Yankees, before this last run, the Royals, Rams, Jaguars, etc.) it's commonly accepted. Team performance impacts gate, and therefore concession/parking and on-field success also influences revenue from licensed product. I'd argue that the cost of tickets on the secondary market is the one of the very real barometers of the avidity of the fan base.

Of course you can pull exceptions to what is generally regarded as true....attendance at live sporting events are driven by on-field success. And all of the leagues know that attendance, regardless of on-field success. continues to be vulnerable to advances in technology that has a low cost of entry to the consumer and provides what could be argued is a better viewing experience than the live event for the fan.

 

[Chief00]

Blaming Hartford's mess on the interstates is ridiculous - every major city has an interstate or 2 running through it in some way. True, they were designed very poorly but the roots of Hartford's problem start with teen pregnancies, kids being born to single mothers who drop out of school, etc.

 

[8893]

Blaming Hartford's mess on the interstates is ridiculous - every major city has an interstate or 2 running through it in some way. True, they were designed very poorly but the roots of Hartford's problem start with teen pregnancies, kids being born to single mothers who drop out of school, etc.

Because they are not hockey fans?

 

[superjohn]

Blaming Hartford's mess on the interstates is ridiculous - every major city has an interstate or 2 running through it in some way. True, they were designed very poorly but the roots of Hartford's problem start with teen pregnancies, kids being born to single mothers who drop out of school, etc.

Facepalm

 

[Deadrody]

Some paraphrasing would be nice. Do us who do not subscribe to the failing newspaper.

Google the title of the article and you can follow the link from Google and read it without registering

 

[Deadrody]

I'm having a hard time seeing how a new area, or even a substantial renovation can have a decent ROI absent a pro sports franchise.

Yeah, therein lies the real problem.

 

[Deadrody]

Y
4. Food
5. Entertainment/culture
6. Shopping

Of those things, 4-6 are inextricably interconnected.

Here's the thing. All 3 of those need to be vastly improved. UConn basketball is literally the only thing drawing people into Hartford. My wife and I only get to a few games a year now and anytime we're there on Sunday its shocking that everything is closed. Nobody is in Hartford on a Sunday. Hard to argue that Hartford has anything in the way of consistent Food, Entertainment, or Shopping if everything is closed on one of the 2 prime days for those things.

 

[Deadrody]

I think the bigger problem is how people in CT literally go out of their way to complain and trash the very own state they live in. You will not find this anywhere else in the country.

Nonsense. I've lived in a lot of places and people complain about all of them.

Connecticut's real problem is being divided between Boston and NYC. Providence doesn't have near the inferiority complex because they know and understand that they're effectively Boston Jr. They accepted it and moved on. Hartford is still trying to get out of the shadow of it's two bigger brothers, but it never will.