No XL games until Fall 2021 | Page 4 | The Boneyard

No XL games until Fall 2021

WingU-Conn said:
I guess it's crazy to think that more kids going to games will result in more UConn fans when they grow up.
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literally 0 causal fans get tickets to Duke home games. only donors, nba players, and Presidents can afford them but it's not hurting their fan base
 
UConn should play games during breaks in Hartford. The argument that we need to play half the games in Hartford implies that UConn fans are lazy or bad fans and I refuse to make that argument.
 
Chin Diesel said:
When you say UConn needs Hartford, are you referring to the University's academic mission, athletics, or both? I don't think you will get much kickback suggesting UConn should have a presence for its programs in the capitol city. I think the pushback is on why does the athletics "need" to be in Hartford regularly.
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I’m with you on this one. My issue with XL is it’s like 30 miles off campus and it’s not really that great of an arena. They get too many games IMO. I agree with a previous poster that it’s different in Novas, St Johns, or Georgetown’s cases since theyre professional sports arenas. It’s also part of their branding. People think of Philly and Nova, DC with GTown, St Johns and the Garden. Do people really associate Hartford and the XL center nationally with UConn?

Id Rather see Gampel get upgrades and an increased amount of games. They’re 195-37 at Gampel, would be curious to see what the record at XL/Civic Center was during that time. I’m fine with XL getting a few games, but I’ve always felt Gampel should get more each year.
 
FYI for those who use the "Hartford holds more than Gampel" argument you're argument may not apply anymore. If/when they renovate XL, the capacity will be reduced a ton.
 
Fatroony5 said:
I’m with you on this one. My issue with XL is it’s like 30 miles off campus and it’s not really that great of an arena. They get too many games IMO. I agree with a previous poster that it’s different in Novas, St Johns, or Georgetown’s cases since theyre professional sports arenas. It’s also part of their branding. People think of Philly and Nova, DC with GTown, St Johns and the Garden. Do people really associate Hartford and the XL center nationally with UConn?

Id Rather see Gampel get upgrades and an increased amount of games. They’re 195-37 at Gampel, would be curious to see what the record at XL/Civic Center was during that time. I’m fine with XL getting a few games, but I’ve always felt Gampel should get more each year.
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while it'd hurt my ability to attend (XL season ticket holder) I agree with what you say. XL should be getting 3-4 games tops.
 
John said:
while it'd hurt my ability to attend (XL season ticket holder) I agree with what you say. XL should be getting 3-4 games tops.
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yes yes yes
 
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John said:
while it'd hurt my ability to attend (XL season ticket holder) I agree with what you say. XL should be getting 3-4 games tops.
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There’s a lot that goes into it. I just wonder if investing the money it’ll truly take to make XL what it needs to be is actually worth it for the city/state. It’s different when there’s a professional team that uses the venue, but the only full time user of the arena is a minor league hockey team. What’s the play here? Attract a pro sports team? Be a major event center for concerts, tournaments, etc? There’s a lot of competition for that around now. That straetgy could work and there are ways to make extra money as well if needed (gambling, let the casinos take over, naming rights etc). But it just feels risky, especially after what the pandemic has shown us in terms of financial priorities.

Theres been some rumors floating around about renovations at XL possibly decreasing capacity. Maybe someone whose more plugged in could share more of those details. It just seems like taking the “band aid approach” isn’t a great option either. Sort of feels like their stuck.

I’d personally rather see UConn get back on campus a majority of the time, invest in Gampel (much less than it would take to make XL Center a top facility) and go from there. I know thatd be tough for season ticket holders and you may not be able to attend as many games. But that would be my preference.
 
I still don’t understand the argument for why people wud want ALL the games at gampel? Why not “spread our wings” and have two possible venues? U have to have some games in our state capital - 60% of our games in the northeast corner of state is definitely enough. To me, when I’m coming from new Britain to XL, it’s 15 mins max. When I drive to storrs- by the time u consider off the exit and into parking garage and getting into arena- yer looking at prolly and hour front to back before your in your seat. Prolly more. Big difference, Especially for weekday night games. (And I cant even enjoy a beer at the game) Bottom line- gampel better for the college atmosphere, Hartford much more convenient. Like I said, it’s perfect the way it is. And don’t forget , uconn has been pretty bad since 2014 AND was in a trash conference . XL will be much better and more exciting as we enter big East and get more competitive. I think people on this thread who are anti-XL are thinking about the games against Tulane on a freezing January Sunday at noon during the nfl playoffs- what place wouldn’t be dead? That Memphis game last year was incredible at XL. XL can definitely get rocking. Just sayin.
 
I understand that Gampel is tougher for opponents (when students on-campus are engaged), but I prefer the XL for its geography and booze. Yes, it's dumpy, but I don't care. It would be a huge mistake to make all games at Gampel a permanent thing post-Covid, particularly between semesters in Dec/Jan when no students are on campus.
 
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bendm said:
literally 0 causal fans get tickets to Duke home games. only donors, nba players, and Presidents can afford them but it's not hurting their fan base
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Yes, let's keep comparing us to Duke. Because you know, they have had a huge problem selling out their homecourt for the past 5-6 years like we have.

Every thing you just wrote is all the more reason to stop comparing us to Duke in this conversation. It's gnikcuf stupid.
 
Dooooooomed said:
I understand that Gampel is tougher for opponents (when students on-campus are engaged), but I prefer the XL for its geography and booze. Yes, it's dumpy, but I don't care. It would be a huge mistake to make all games at Gampel a permanent thing post-Covid, particularly between semesters in Dec/Jan when no students are on campus.
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Bingo. Its all about geography. Booze is a bonus.

Let's face it. Storrs is in the middle of NOWHERE.
 
Watchdog said:
If you weren't at the XL for the Syracuse and Georgetown games in January of 1990 you may not appreciate how loud and exciting that arena can be. We went to all games in both arenas from the mid-80's on and even opening night against St. Johns at Gampel wasn't as loud and electric as those two games......and many others, because the sheer difference in the numbers of fans (double with Gampel at 8240 capacity) added to all the promise of a great season in progress.

Of course, we were on the rise, not languishing in a bad league with odd start times, but you could feel the anticipation during warmups and as you got closer to game time. Introduction of starting lineups didn't need the phony bell ringing and the recording telling us to "get ready to rumble". We already were.
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It was amazing! The Civic Center was a great venue for big games back then.

Since then though, the standards of a first class arena have changed, the building has aged considerably and Gampel’s capacity has increased to 10,167.
 
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Sue Bird liked playing in the HCC because that meant a big game.
 
CL82 said:
It was amazing! The Civic Center was a great venue for big games back then.
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It still is. The steepness funnels all the sound onto the court. The main argument for Gampel is that it's on-campus. "XL sucks" is not a valid argument because Gampel sucks. It's much more uncomfortable than the XL. It's a bit ironic that our first year back in the Big East we have no XL. Because if we had no XL back then, we'd have no Big East.
 
Waquoit said:
It still is. The steepness funnels all the sound onto the court. The main argument for Gampel is that it's on-campus. "XL sucks" is not a valid argument because Gampel sucks. It's much more uncomfortable than the XL. It's a bit ironic that our first year back in the Big East we have no XL. Because if we had no XL back then, we'd have no Big East.
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the in-seat game experience at XL is decent enough - good sight lines for the most part, seats are physically comfortable, etc. It's the concourse area that's a disaster - I shudder to think how (god forbid) they'd evacuate that place during an emergency with those tight concourses. My particular pet peeve are the restrooms, I cannot believe those were ever adequate even when the building was new.
 
Waquoit said:
Sue Bird liked playing in the HCC because that meant a big game.
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Sue Bird last played there 18 years ago.

My thought is the building is over 40 years old and the city, state and UConn keep dumping more money in to it with little to show. I would think a new 14k arena would be a better use of money.
 
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John said:
the in-seat game experience at XL is decent enough - good sight lines for the most part, seats are physically comfortable, etc. It's the concourse area that's a disaster - I shudder to think how (god forbid) they'd evacuate that place during an emergency with those tight concourses. My particular pet peeve are the restrooms, I cannot believe those were ever adequate even when the building was new.
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Don’t forget the original hockey capacity was 10,507. Bathrooms were designed for a lower capacity. I don’t think they added bathrooms after the roof collapse.
 
Waquoit said:
She played there this year, dipstick. That's where I got the quote.
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And her quote from this year was referencing how she knows she is playing a big game in 2020 because it's at XL or she was reflecting on how she felt about games at XL while she was at UConn?
 
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Chin Diesel said:
And her quote from this year was referencing how she knows she is playing a big game in 2020 because it's at XL or she was reflecting on how she felt about games at XL while she was at UConn?
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So instead of admitting you were wrong you did some ex post facto research in a vain attempt to explain your factual error?
 
CL82 said:
Lol, no.
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You are kidding yourself if you think UConn gets a sniff with just the Field House. This was a City league. But we all know you kid yourself all the time.
 
Waquoit said:
You are kidding yourself if you think UConn gets a sniff with just the Field House. This was a City league. But we all know you kid yourself all the time.
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Nope, you’re wrong.
 
CL82 said:
Nope, you’re wrong.
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You do know that as soon as they rebuilt the HCC, the Big East wouldn't let UConn play league games in the Field House anymore, don't you?
 
Waquoit said:
So instead of admitting you were wrong you did some ex post facto research in a vain attempt to explain your factual error?
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If that's what you want to take out of it, go for it. It's all yours.

However I am still curious if Sue's quote about XL meaning a big game was in reference to 2020 or when she suited up.for UConn.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Sue Bird last played there 18 years ago.

My thought is the building is over 40 years old and the city, state and UConn keep dumping more money in to it with little to show. I would think a new 14k arena would be a better use of money.
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The XL is very outdated, but at least the money they put into the place over the last 5 years made somewhat of a difference. I know it's still lipstick on a pig, but taking the doors off the concourse makes movement a lot easier. That bar area behind the student sections is a nice little thing as well. One big negative about the XL experience is the restroom situation. Those things are so small and ancient, and using them at half time or after the game is a 20 minute affair. To fix that, it would be a major renovation that would cost millions.

I prefer Gampel over XL 100% of the time, the extra 30 minute drive does not bother me. I don't think the XL Center is going anywhere, and I don't think the place will be renovated anytime soon. When it comes down to it, Id go see a game at the city dump if that's where we were playing, because supporting the team is all that matters.
 
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