PBA games v GP games this season

[Scoe]

It would be nice if Gampel added restrooms. If you have to use the restroom and go to concessions at halftime good luck getting back to your seat prior to the under 16 mark.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

The average Hartford attendance is around 3500 more than Gampel, with almost all of those 3500 paying $20/ticket or less. Between out-of-pocket costs (rent and transportation) and lost revenue opportunities (parking and concessions), it would be more cost effective to play at GP. It would also reduce available inventory, allowing for higher ticket prices. I doubt it would impact recruiting. I can't imagine any recruit choosing UConn so that they can get on a bus and take a 35 minute ride to play half their games at the mecca of college basketball best known for an NHL team that left town 30ish years ago now known as Peoples Bank Arena.

FIFY

 

[uconngb]

Gampel was even worse during the AAC years. You lower bowl guys couldn’t even bother to show up during weekday games. But what do I know? I was just sitting in the upper corner looking at all those empty seats being vigorously guarded by the yellow shirts wondering what else better you had to do.

And if you wanted to be honest, you would do an apples to apples comparison between Gampel and the XL since Gampel opened. It’s virtually even.Gampel never hosted Perno teams or teams with soccer goalies, and lefty pitchers in the rotation.

That’s a John Shea reference for all you newbies…..well done

 

[DSquiz]

The average Hartford attendance is around 3500 more than Gampel, with almost all of those 3500 paying $20/ticket or less. Between out-of-pocket costs (rent and transportation) and lost revenue opportunities (parking and concessions), it would be more cost effective to play at GP.

That’s not even close to being true. Playing in Hartford makes UConn a ton more money than Gampel. Direct from Benedict:

“I know this is a very emotional-driven conversation in the context of our fan base. The realities are we can sell 16,000 tickets, and we do for our men’s and women’s basketball teams when we play there. It produces over double what we can at Gampel. We’re not talking about increasing the number of games we play there, but we have an opportunity to make that more financially viable than it is today because of the work that Oak View is doing, and the state investment. There’s going to be more revenue coming from that building, even than what we’re currently generating, on top of the fact that the agreement is going to be better for us. So, more revenue, more favorable lease, much better. You have that piece.”

 

[Son of Robert]

Enjoy the Hartford games while you have them, because when I'm named UConn AD you'll get 0. Not even an exhibition game against a local HS team

It is Connecticut's team, not just the college. Being centrally located Hartford increases the access and visibility of the games to more of the state's population. There are many factors to building and maintaining the fan base, why would you go away from what has been working for the last 30 or 40 years?

 

[Stew Crew]

That’s not even close to being true. Playing in Hartford makes UConn a ton more money than Gampel. Direct from Benedict:

“I know this is a very emotional-driven conversation in the context of our fan base. The realities are we can sell 16,000 tickets, and we do for our men’s and women’s basketball teams when we play there. It produces over double what we can at Gampel. We’re not talking about increasing the number of games we play there, but we have an opportunity to make that more financially viable than it is today because of the work that Oak View is doing, and the state investment. There’s going to be more revenue coming from that building, even than what we’re currently generating, on top of the fact that the agreement is going to be better for us. So, more revenue, more favorable lease, much better. You have that piece.”

It’s good to see they are negotiating better deals but read the quote closer. Benedict is talking about the future. “We have the opportunity to make that more financially viable than it is today,”. Benedict is also talking about a more favorable lease and implying getting a cut of concessions and possibly loge/box seating. That is not the case today. In the past, Benedict has publicly said that attendance needs to be north of 10,000 in Hartford to just break even. If UConn can get reasonable lease and a cut of other revenue streams, then yes Hartford could be more viable.

 

[CL82]

This does assume that corporate sponsorship money is not affected and AD would double seat donation price at GP. Most GP fans also have seats in Hartford, so paying double seat donation would be cost neutral to many fans.

I think the way to address this would be to have two sessions in Gampel each with a separate seat donation. That way people who promised "x" number of games Gampel, would still get them. If they wanted to add the "second session games", they could. If former "Hartford only" ticket holders, wanted to buy them, they could.

That said, the Hartford games aren't going anywhere in the near term. Dave Benedict has indicated that there will be a renegotiated price that Connecticut plays to pay in Hartford, hinting that it will be lower. If that is the case, at least one of the problems of playing in Hartford is mitigated.

 

[CL82]

That’s not even close to being true. Playing in Hartford makes UConn a ton more money than Gampel. Direct from Benedict:

“I know this is a very emotional-driven conversation in the context of our fan base. The realities are we can sell 16,000 tickets, and we do for our men’s and women’s basketball teams when we play there. It produces over double what we can at Gampel. We’re not talking about increasing the number of games we play there, but we have an opportunity to make that more financially viable than it is today because of the work that Oak View is doing, and the state investment. There’s going to be more revenue coming from that building, even than what we’re currently generating, on top of the fact that the agreement is going to be better for us. So, more revenue, more favorable lease, much better. You have that piece.”

This is the quote I referenced in my above post. It surprised me when I read it originally. The notion that 16,000 seats produces "more than double" what 10,000 seats produces seems counterintuitive, but I have no reason to doubt Benedict. The word "produces" is interesting. Is that gross revenue or net revenue? I think pretty much everyone would agree that Hartford has the ability to generate more gross revenue. The question is with the current exorbitantly high lease rates and lack of access parking and concession revenue, does it generate more net income. I'd love to see the actual numbers to understand this better.

I do think things are happening that will make Hartford a better deal for us. The first is the renegotiated lease deal, if it meaningfully decreases the cost to Connecticut to rent the facility. A second is the redesign on the lower bowl, which should allow the school to make more revenue. I'm curious about what that change will do to atmosphere. If the new pricier seats end up being "empty corporate seats" that may end up being a bit of a net negative for atmosphere/tv.

I'm very curious to see how everything turns out, but so far the renovations seem to be very "unCDRA" and by that I mean, seem to be actual meaningful improvements that will ultimately benefit Connecticut.

 

[DSquiz]

It’s good to see they are negotiating better deals but read the quote closer. Benedict is talking about the future. “We have the opportunity to make that more financially viable than it is today,”. Benedict is also talking about a more favorable lease and implying getting a cut of concessions and possibly loge/box seating. That is not the case today. In the past, Benedict has publicly said that attendance needs to be north of 10,000 in Hartford to just break even. If UConn can get reasonable lease and a cut of other revenue streams, then yes Hartford could be more viable.

The first part of the quote talks about right now. A full PBA “produces over double what we can at Gampel.”

He then talks about the future and the upcoming terms making that even more lucrative. So your statement that Gampel is “more cost effective” isn’t the case.

So great news, and the renovations/new premium seating should be send even more money UConn’s way. Remember Gampel doesn’t offer any premium seating (which is fantastic for the vibe but bad for the bottom line).

 

[Stew Crew]

This is the quote I referenced in my above post. It surprised me when I read it originally. The notion that 16,000 seats produces "more than double" what 10,000 seats produces seems counterintuitive, but I have no reason to doubt Benedict. The word "produces" is interesting. Is that gross revenue or net revenue? I think pretty much everyone would agree that Hartford has the ability to generate more gross revenue. The question is with the current exorbitantly high lease rates and lack of access parking and concession revenue, does it generate more net income. I'd love to see the actual numbers to understand this better.

I do think things are happening that will make Hartford a better deal for us. The first is the renegotiated lease deal, if it meaningfully decreases the cost to Connecticut to rent the facility. A second is the redesign on the lower bowl, which should allow the school to make more revenue. I'm curious about what that change will do to atmosphere. If the new pricier seats end up being "empty corporate seats" that may end up being a bit of a net negative for atmosphere/tv.

I'm very curious to see how everything turns out, but so far the renovations seem to be very "unCDRA" and by that I mean, seem to be actual meaningful improvements that will ultimately benefit Connecticut.

I imagine there is a certain level of hyperbole coming from the guy tasked with closing a $40 million gap in the budget, all in the face of upcoming revenue sharing. 3 years ago, XL was a losing proposition according to Benedict. Then he negotiates a new deal in Hartford that is bringing in more revenue and gets some major upgrades to enhance revenue. This year, he is pumping up the financial benefits of Hartford while planning a major expansion of Gampel that will need funding. Shrewd move.

 

[CL82]

I imagine there is a certain level of hyperbole coming from the guy tasked with closing a $40 million gap in the budget, all in the face of upcoming revenue sharing. 3 years ago, XL was a losing proposition according to Benedict. Then he negotiates a new deal in Hartford that is bringing in more revenue and gets some major upgrades to enhance revenue. This year, he is pumping up the financial benefits of Hartford while planning a major expansion of Gampel that will need funding. Shrewd move.

Fair. I'm content to wait to see the details of the new deal and to better understand what the new arrangement is in Hartford.

 

[Excalibur]

This thread started with someone working backwards from “I don’t want to drive an extra 30 minutes”.

Amusing . . .

 

[jostar1]

They play in Hartford because the legislature wants them to play in Hartford. Radenka Marić tried to play hardball with the legislature last year and backed down. It's best not to bite the hand that feeds you.

 

[ucp990411]

Friday at the scrimmage I asked a couple of players where they would rather play and they said it really doesn’t matter. This really surprised me

 

[CTBasketball]

Enjoy the Hartford games while you have them, because when I'm named UConn AD you'll get 0. Not even an exhibition game against a local HS team

I hope our next AD doesn’t make emotional decisions that aren’t backed by financial sense.

 

[Waquoit]

The first part of the quote talks about right now. A full PBA “produces over double what we can at Gampel.”

You mean all this time when CL and zls would confidently state that the program loses money in Hartford they were fibbing? Shocked! Shocked!

 

[CTBasketball]

You mean all this time when CL and zls would confidently state that the program loses money in Hartford they were fibbing? Shocked! Shocked!

So if we’re trying to go P2 and save money for football wouldn’t it financially make sense to play all games in Hartford?

 

[CL82]

They play in Hartford because the legislature wants them to play in Hartford. Radenka Marić tried to play hardball with the legislature last year and backed down. It's best not to bite the hand that feeds you.

Yeah, that was awkward, wasn't it? Her hardball was like someone who throws out the opening day pitch two feet in front of the mound and still two bounces it to the left of the catcher.

Whenever there's any kind of negotiation, she needs to defer to people who are actually good at it. JMO.

 

[CL82]

You mean all this time when CL and zls would confidently state that the program loses money in Hartford they were fibbing? Shocked! Shocked!

Lol go back and read my post, which expressly said if we don't sell out we're losing money. That was my best guess using the numbers that I included in my post. Benedict's quote referenced a sold out HCC.

I was surprised by that, although I note that Benedict said "produces double the revenue". I have to wonder if that means net or gross. Is he including a second set of donations only if we have games in Hartford, because there's an easy fix for that. Is he, including lost revenue for parking and concessions? As always, the devil is in the details.

 

[willie99]

The school obviously can't sell more tickets in GP, and the school can't possible receive more donations at GP with fewer seats to sell. Especially lower bowl seats.

It's a moot point, like beating a dead horse, to think they're going to change now. They want to keep the Hartford season ticket base, they're going to put more good games there in 25/26 and all years going forward than they did in 24/25

I attend both arenas, I like both arenas, they both have their own advantages for the fans. We are a two arena school, have been for 35+ years and counting

 

[huskymedic]

The school obviously can't sell more tickets in GP, and the school can't possible receive more donations at GP with fewer seats to sell. Especially lower bowl seats.

It's a moot point, like beating a dead horse, to think they're going to change now. They want to keep the Hartford season ticket base, they're going to put more good games there in 25/26 and all years going forward than they did in 24/25

I attend both arenas, I like both arenas, they both have their own advantages for the fans. We are a two arena school, have been for 35+ years and counting

Looks like Wisconsin is splitting more games out to Milwaukee from Madison moving forward for growing the fan base/revenue.

 

[zls44]

The first part of the quote talks about right now. A full PBA “produces over double what we can at Gampel.”

For the CRDA. Not for UConn.

I want UConn to get money they generate. I believe in fairness. @Waquoit doesnt. That’s where we differ.

 

[John]

For the CRDA. Not for UConn.

I want UConn to get money they generate. I believe in fairness. @Waquoit doesnt. That’s where we differ.

keep peddling, you'll have us back in the Yankee Conference before we know it.

 

[DSquiz]

For the CRDA. Not for UConn.

I want UConn to get money they generate. I believe in fairness. @Waquoit doesnt. That’s where we differ.

What? David Benedict is the AD at UConn, he’s talking money for UConn. The entire interview was about UConn’s money generation.