New XL Renovations | Page 3 | The Boneyard

New XL Renovations

CTBasketball said:
Dinner? Salute, Max Downtown, Trumbull Kitchen, SunBerry, Black Eyed Sally’s, Feng Chophouse, Sorella.

Drinks? Urban Lodge, Russian Lady, The Horse, Vaughns, Brownstone, Pigs Eye, Bar Max.

Any update on Huskies Tavern opening?
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So, if I'm going to push? 90% of the places you've named have been open for 25+ years. I used my fake ID to get in the Russian Lady in 1987.
 
Deepster said:
So, if I'm going to push? 90% of the places you've named have been open for 25+ years. I used my fake ID to get in the Russian Lady in 1987.
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Is the Federal bar still there?
 
Fishy said:
XL essentially exists for the CRDA’s benefit. Every decision hinges on what’s good for them.
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Agree 100%, and to maximum the customer’s experience that needs to change, but thus far no signs that it will.

The CRDA has no expertise of their own in managing a building - they hire management firms for various functions, hence increasing operating costs. They are a pass thru that siphons money out for themselves.

Having customers spending halftime in the men’s room line has the opportunity cost of missing out on concession revenue but more importantly doesn’t build a positive customer experience.
 
StllH8L8ner said:
If we MUST play at XL, I’d rather spend the money on a fleet of buses to bring students to the games to take over for the wine and cheese (Sam Cassell Sr’s words) atmosphere that permeates through that arena at times. If you’re going to a college basketball game like you’re on ludes, give up your tix to someone who’ll scream their head off.

Tea leaf tip: Danny, AK, etc saying “we need everyone to get loud this weekend”, is the nice way of saying, “you’re sitting on your hands, the atmosphere sux and we need you to wake up”.
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XL has a longer winning streak than Gampel.
 
Mr. Wonderful said:
The Civic Center is an outdated hockey arena for a team that left 30 some odd years ago. Its very existence is a continual reminder of rot, decay, and failure. I can't fathom why the entire state is beholden to the CRDA's wet dreams. Makes me embarrassed to be a resident of this state.
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The Wolf Pack gets good crowds and the games are fun. That's a problem how? Most of the cities teams in our cohort have a similar arena situation. But the XL makes you embarrassed to live here? Silly. We live in one of the best states in the country.
 
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Chief00 said:
Agree 100%, and to maximum the customer’s experience that needs to change, but thus far no signs that it will.

The CRDA has no expertise of their own in managing a building - they hire management firms for various functions, hence increasing operating costs. They are a pass thru that siphons money out for themselves.

Having customers spending halftime in the men’s room line has the opportunity cost of missing out on concession revenue but more importantly doesn’t build a positive customer experience.
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How does the CRDA siphon money out of the XL Center for themselves?
 
Fishy said:
Connecticut will just never be honest with itself about the civic center.

These effectively-municipally controlled venues do not make money and it’s hard to argue for investment when something a) does not make money and b) the investment does not translate into votes.

Worse, they’re afraid to cede control of it to anyone who might make a profit because it would make them look bad….so we get half-measures.

The answer for the civic center is to do what Baltimore did with CFG Bank. Let Oak View handle it from top to bottom. Get out of their way.

Get the losses off the books and enjoy the tax revenue.
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Pretty sure that was the deal with Oak View in order to green light the renovations. Oak View manages the building, eats the losses but gets to keep the profits up to a certain point.

Seems to me like you are just complaining for complaining sakes
 
Waquoit said:
We live in one of the best states in the country.
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Huh? I'd love to hear the explanation behind this one...

Pros: Good public schools, 4 seasons (if winter's your thing), proximity to other (better) places.
Cons: Where do you start here? Taxes, taxes, taxes. Poor job market. Exorbitant housing costs. Horrible state to retire in. High crime rate.
 
At this point I think the only hope for this building is that OVG can make enough money with the premium options they are adding for this renovation, and decide to take full control from CRDA, and pump more money into the building with further renovations. IMO, there is no reason they shouldnt be able to do more than 5 concerts per year here. I understand they have competition with Mohegan and the outdoor venues, but this place can fit so many more people then Mohegan.
 
HuskyAlum012 said:
At this point I think the only hope for this building is that OVG can make enough money with the premium options they are adding for this renovation, and decide to take full control from CRDA, and pump more money into the building with further renovations. IMO, there is no reason they shouldnt be able to do more than 5 concerts per year here. I understand they have competition with Mohegan and the outdoor venues, but this place can fit so many more people then Mohegan.
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And the acts that are too big for Mohegan go to Boston or NYC metro areas.
 
superjohn said:
With money, like they keep dumping into the existing building. Mostly public money.

Do you think the XL center should be their home forever? How many hundreds of millions should they dump into the decrepit building?
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Kickbacks
 
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Deepster said:
Huh? I'd love to hear the explanation behind this one...

Pros: Good public schools, 4 seasons (if winter's your thing), proximity to other (better) places.
Cons: Where do you start here? Taxes, taxes, taxes. Poor job market. Exorbitant housing costs. Horrible state to retire in. High crime rate.
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High crime rate??? Are you kidding me? Why has the world moved away from facts? See the screen shot, all I had to do was google it.
 

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Palatine said:
Different developer. The new guy is apartment focused. And it's coming along pretty well. By Connecticut standards, warp speed.
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I'm not following....how does apartments factor in people coming into Hartford more for entertainment? Is there an apartment/real estate shortage in the city right now? Are there grocery store options or places to support people living there?
 
UConnSwag11 said:
The university should think about stop playing games in Hartford, expand Gampel, and build an on campus football stadium
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I think they should tear down XL, build something modern and while thats going on all games are at Gampel even if it takes a couple of seasons. Of course this has zero chance of happening.
 
UCann said:
High crime rate??? Are you kidding me? Why has the world moved away from facts? See the screen shot, all I had to do was google it.
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What do you expect from a hanging judge.
 
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Deepster said:
So, if I'm going to push? 90% of the places you've named have been open for 25+ years. I used my fake ID to get in the Russian Lady in 1987.
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It’s about who you’re with not where you’re at!
 
I’m remaining optimistic that maybe we will be pleasantly surprised with the renovations. (Hopefully)
 
Deepster said:
Huh? I'd love to hear the explanation behind this one...

Pros: Good public schools, 4 seasons (if winter's your thing), proximity to other (better) places.
Cons: Where do you start here? Taxes, taxes, taxes. Poor job market. Exorbitant housing costs. Horrible state to retire in. High crime rate.
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You forgot a pro; great pizza. Hey, any pro helps. :)
 
HuskyAlum012 said:
At this point I think the only hope for this building is that OVG can make enough money with the premium options they are adding for this renovation, and decide to take full control from CRDA, and pump more money into the building with further renovations. IMO, there is no reason they shouldnt be able to do more than 5 concerts per year here. I understand they have competition with Mohegan and the outdoor venues, but this place can fit so many more people then Mohegan.
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I believe OVG said with this round of renovations that include loading dock and stage placement/movement, they could add about 25-30 more concerts a year. That's a game changer for XL.
 
CTFAN4LIFE said:
I believe OVG said with this round of renovations that include loading dock and stage placement/movement, they could add about 25-30 more concerts a year. That's a game changer for XL.
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I'm pretty sure they scrapped the loading dock replacement from this renovation because it was going to be too expensive.
 
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Deepster said:
Huh? I'd love to hear the explanation behind this one...

Pros: Good public schools, 4 seasons (if winter's your thing), proximity to other (better) places.
Cons: Where do you start here? Taxes, taxes, taxes. Poor job market. Exorbitant housing costs. Horrible state to retire in. High crime rate.
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The car tax used to pi$$ me off so much.
 
Mr. Wonderful said:
The Civic Center is an outdated hockey arena for a team that left 30 some odd years ago. Its very existence is a continual reminder of rot, decay, and failure. I can't fathom why the entire state is beholden to the CRDA's wet dreams. Makes me embarrassed to be a resident of this state.
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Post/Handle
 
Deepster said:
Okay. Fair.

Then why does it matter whether it’s Hartford or West Hartford or Glastonbury?
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Fine you win. Non-game day I’m not going into Hartford. But the game day environment is very good. Bars are full, restaurants packed. The vibe changes. All those aforementioned places are slammed with UConn fans.

Tough to find that in Storrs, Newark, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, or other Big East cities.
 
CTBasketball said:
Fine you win. Non-game day I’m not going into Hartford. But the game day environment is very good. Bars are full, restaurants packed. The vibe changes. All those aforementioned places are slammed with UConn fans.

Tough to find that in Storrs, Newark, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, or other Big East cities.
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It's so rare I get to go to UConn games in Hartford but I've always had fun in recent years and it's definitely a good game day atmosphere at the bars.
 
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