Proposed $24 million in repairs, upgrades at Rentschler Field comes as UConn football reaches agreement to extend playing at East Hartford stadium

[CL82]

He is, in a way. I believe he was being facetious about the gift aspect however. But UConn does not own Rentschler Field, nor do they own the XL Center. The options are:

1. Use the state-owned facilities
2. Don’t use the state-owned facilities

If the answer is 1), then expect to pay rent. You don’t own something and you want to use it, there’s a fee associated with that. If the facilities are falling apart, then either the landlord makes the case to improve it or you go somewhere else.

If the answer is 2), then okay great go play somewhere else. In the case of basketball, UConn can play at Gampel Pavilion. That’s a hand they can leverage in the lease discussions (keeping alienating the fan base and Hartford out of this). In the case for football, there is no where else to play. UConn can build an on-campus arena so they can run it how they desire, but we all know the costs associated with that and how Mansfield hates that idea.

If the lease deal sucks, go renegotiate. And don’t bring some idiot to the table and expect a different result every time, which is my gripe with the contracts at XL & Rentschler.

The issue is, as many people point out here, there is an element of extortion in the scheduling of games at the XL center. At least in terms of mythology UConn must play half of its games in Hartford. Assuming that’s correct, then you can’t say that the University is free to schedule in Hartford or not.

To me, the issue is that the CDRA has taken advantage of the university of Connecticut as a captive tenant to mask its own ineptitude. It needs to be disbanded, at least as a sports management entity. They have yet to turn a profit on anything they’ve done. They lose millions of dollars annually, even after charging the university exorbitant lease rates. Illuminate their salary and expenses and playing in Hartford and East Hartford becomes more affordable.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

First, simply because Connecticut is closer to those states that do NOT support FBS flagships. The State (and region) has more established private schools with deep alumni and endowments. Yale was Connecticut's premier college athletic program through the 1970s. UConn is NEVER going to be like an ACC or BigTen school - it doesn't have the history or culture, period. Prior to Calhoun's arrival, this was a regional 'mid-major" program. Sure, currently UConn athletics is very successful, but it doesn't have the deep pockets of traditional P5 schools.

Second, the State of Connecticut is dying. With a population of just 3.5 million in the 3rd smallest state in area - we will never compare to some of these other States. Why can Utah (with a similar population) support multiple D-I programs - Utah, Utah State, Weber State, Southern Utah and still compete with BYU in its borders? Connecticut can barely afford UConn and CCSU isn't even an afterthought.

A few others have posted great points on the history/culture/CT politics that apply to our unique situation. Those are the posters that make the most sense and can see both sides of the issue. Anyone who thinks the State should just keep spending on UConn without restraint/controls is absurd.

I'm not so much anti-UConn, but some of these posts do not match the fiscal political reality of our state. Finally, I feel if UConn did more to support and partner with CCSU (both academically and athletically), instead of doing everything behind the scenes at the State level to hold us back from resources, some of us might be more supportive of these types of major State investments.

Second, the State of Connecticut is dying.
nope. not even close, and now that world has turned to war (sadly) again, well, subs, jet engines, copters, tank stuff, and the software to run them, all add up to 100k+ careers, as far as the eye can see.
im waiting for the geniuses to pop a story where se Ct is one of the best economies on the planet, with high paying job opportunities and reasonably priced homes. it's got beaches, too. people like beaches.
3.5 millions like forever in people size? it's not like we're called 'the land of steady habits,' or is it?

 

[CCSU97]

This is one of the main issues. The CDRA needs to have its collective feet held to the fire. Quite possibly the most incompetent quasi-state department/group of the lot. No discernable desire to do anything that could result in a big ROI.

Their main purpose seems to be a department to transfer state money in and out of. Skimming off a % along the way as salaries for their largely-incompetent department members.

I generally don't disagree with this point. CDRA itself is an example of a State poor investment. Kinda like the CT Port Authority.

That being said, Connecticut is just not a good market for major events or tenants for these type of sports facilities. Despite their CDRA incompetence, Hartford/CT is just not a market to lure a MLS team, forget about a NHL team again. Minor league franchises won't pay the bills either - regardless if it is hockey/basketball for the Civic Center or soccer/lax for the stadium.

Let's face it, Providence is a better market, or some Boston suburb like Worcester. Despite the size of the Hartford and New Haven DMA, this is not even a mid-major market like Hampton Roads or Austin. There is a real negative economic, political, and cultural reality the State of Connecticut faces that some UConn fans want to ignore.

 

[CCSU97]

Second, the State of Connecticut is dying.
nope. not even close, and now that world has turned to war (sadly) again, well, subs, jet engines, copters, tank stuff, and the software to run them, all add up to 100k+ careers, as far as the eye can see.
im waiting for the geniuses to pop a story where se Ct is one of the best economies on the planet, with high paying job opportunities and reasonably priced homes. it's got beaches, too. people like beaches.
3.5 millions like forever in people size? it's not like we're called 'the land of steady habits,' or is it?

"dying" may not be the correct term - but this State isn't completely healthy. High taxes and cost of living, unfunded pensions, poor urban schools.

More corporations and millionaires have left for the sunbelt states. I love Connecticut, and there are great reasons why so many stay and move here, but we don't have vibrant major urban centers and the wealth we have (fiscal and intellectual) lies spread out among 169 small municipalities. How are we any more competitive than Delaware (small state, corporate friendly, beaches and no income tax)?

Why should we expect UConn to look and be funded like the University of North Carolina, instead of the University of Delaware?

 

[ClifSpliffy]

"dying" may not be the correct term - but this State isn't completely healthy. High taxes and cost of living, unfunded pensions, poor urban schools.

More corporations and millionaires have left for the sunbelt states. I love Connecticut, and there are great reasons why so many stay and move here, but we don't have vibrant major urban centers and the wealth we have (fiscal and intellectual) lies spread out among 169 small municipalities. How are we any more competitive than Delaware (small state, corporate friendly, beaches and no income tax)?

Why should we expect UConn to look and be funded like the University of North Carolina, instead of the University of Delaware?

Delaware?
gdp.
Delaware 88 b.
Connecticut 323 b.
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/stgdppi3q22.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK
tho they got subs, too. jersey mikes, methinks.
ive never skied there either. has anyone, ever?

 

[gtcam]

UConn is a microcosm of the state economically. Let the people run things based on popularity, plurality and plain stupidity

 

[gioff2323]

Where do you get this revisionist history?

Once the Patriots killed the Downtown Hartford stadium proposal, the Rent was approved and funded by the General Assembly (with full UConn legislative support) and was for all intent and purposes EXCLUSIVELY for UConn football. They had no other major tenant committed, and any other event (concerts, soccer) would have simply helped to pay off costs that were already committed.

The land was donated by Pratt and Whitney and the construction/infrastructure costs were paid by 100% the State. At the time (and currently), UConn had no viable options to build a FBS stadium on their own in Storrs. It was E. Hartford or nothing - that is the reality UConn faced at the time (and still does).

The fact you think $$$ grows on trees - how would the State pay off 30 year G.O. bonds if UConn events weren't the source of payment? You are the example of someone that has no idea how state government or private financing works. I hope you are not a UConn grad.

I 100% agree that State pensions are a huge liability and have had a negative effect on State economic growth. But you don't acknowledge that UConn and the UConn Medical Center are the largest contributor to the State pension problem. Again, you can't have it both ways.

The entire UConn enterprise isn't the economic engine and net benefit to the State that you think it is when pensions and athletics are drowning in red ink.

That is false, Donald. Do some research.

 

[gioff2323]

"dying" may not be the correct term - but this State isn't completely healthy. High taxes and cost of living, unfunded pensions, poor urban schools.

More corporations and millionaires have left for the sunbelt states. I love Connecticut, and there are great reasons why so many stay and move here, but we don't have vibrant major urban centers and the wealth we have (fiscal and intellectual) lies spread out among 169 small municipalities. How are we any more competitive than Delaware (small state, corporate friendly, beaches and no income tax)?

Why should we expect UConn to look and be funded like the University of North Carolina, instead of the University of Delaware?

Do some more research. Delaware is generous to its state U - to the point of getting embroiled in lawsuits suggesting del state gets short-changed at every turn.

You can just spout stuff to support your pointless point, that is the downside of sites like this.

You running for office?

 

[CCSU97]

That is false, Donald. Do some research.

Sure, Daffy, but you need to get a clue!

UConn stadium a done deal

n The new stadium guarantees UConn's move to Division I football.

www.registercitizen.com

UConn Football Stadium. PA 99-241 repealed the bond authorization for the stadium and the related laws, following Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft’s decision to pull out of the stadium deal. The act also changed the scope of the original convention center and sports megaplex project. While prior law allowed the convention center project to include a sports megaplex, either as part of the same or as a separate facility in the economic development district, PA 99-241 allowed for the development of a sportsplex as a separate project and authorized the OPM secretary to make agreements with UConn with respect to playing its home football games there. The act gave the OPM secretary broad powers to plan, develop, construct, and operate the sportsplex.

https://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0592.htm

 

[CCSU97]

Do some more research. Delaware is generous to its state U - to the point of getting embroiled in lawsuits suggesting del state gets short-changed at every turn.

You can just spout stuff to support your pointless point, that is the downside of sites like this.

You running for office?

Clueless? Are you looking in the mirror.

Top UD officials taking pay cut as university grapples with $50 million budget shortfall

As the University of Delaware grapples with millions of dollars in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, top administrators are taking a pay cut, UD announced Monday.

www.newarkpostonline.com

 

[Exit 4]

UConn Storrs changed lanes back in BE 1.0 era and has been slowly weaving its way up the leaderboard since. We cannot downshift at this point. We have to keep going and that means stepping up with $$ from time to time. We have to see how the landscape changes in the miles ahead as the final leg of this adventure race plays out over the next 5 years or so. Most everything is possible at this moment; the P5 could transform to a P2, P3 or P4 or something like a P2a/P2b pool. Call it what you want, we have a lot invested in this process and we cannot give up now in the last handful of miles. And there wont be an opportunity to re-enter the race should hesitate for even a moment.

The new P-whatever club is likely to dominate for a long while once established given its natural position as a conglomeration from coast to coast of flagship state universities and leading private universities. The domination will feed itself by virtue of the TV time which provides continuous brand building. I think this particularly true if we end up with about 65 to 85 schools in the breakaway, but perhaps less likely (because its too narrow) if we end up with just 30 to 40 schools. In any event, a state like CT should want to be in that club. Its a club that will have numerous networking benefits that will be essential in the decades ahead. Its a dark economic picture for New England if we don't get at least two schools in that club once its formed (sorry folks, but BC is in for now).

Where would UConn's acceptance rate and academic standing be today without all the effort made with athletics? Most certainly it would be much lower because academic rankings are largely influenced by acceptance rates and UConn has been climbing in part because of the high volume of applicants. Athletics leads to exposure which leads to applications which leads to a better student body which leads to more success and the cycle continues. Hard to put a $ value on that.

 

[UCFBfan]

The problem is also that UConn currently has nowhere else to play football and the state knows it. They can charge what they want and do as they please and realistically, UConn can't really do anything.

On the other hand, basketball can do something. If the state wants to mess around with the football team pull out of playing at the XL. If the CCSU guy wants to complain about UConn getting all the money, he can have CCSU play at the XL. I agree 100% that putting money into that place is like throwing it down the drain. Playing all games at Gampel is a win-win for the University but hurts Hartford. I'm a huge Hartford guy and would hate to see the collateral damage that pulling UConn basketball out of the XL would cause. However, if it needs to be done, then do it.

 

[UCFBfan]

Where would UConn's acceptance rate and academic standing be today without all the effort made with athletics? Most certainly it would be much lower because academic rankings are largely influenced by acceptance rates and UConn has been climbing in part because of the high volume of applicants. Athletics leads to exposure which leads to applications which leads to a better student body which leads to more success and the cycle continues. Hard to put a $ value on that.

Here's a great article about our new president and her changed view on the value of the athletic department on the university. She points directly to enrollment numbers and increased competitiveness of enrolled students after our programs became successful. It's not just the athletic program that benefits from investment, the university as a whole has benefited immensely.

UConn president Radenka Maric: 'Athletics gives us prominence'

New UConn president Radenka Maric says the university's high profile place in the world has a lot to do with the success of its sports teams.

www.ctinsider.com

Maric rose from the couch and pulled from her desk a laminated fact card with the heading, “UConn is in Demand.” She placed it on a table in front of her and tapped it several times, emphasizing a point. The card’s bar graph shows student applications, ranging from the 10,709 in 1996 to the 43,102 in 2022.

The latest numbers are in, too. As of Jan. 17, there were 47,352 applications for the freshman class of 2023. The mean SAT score for first-year Storrs campus students in 2022 was 1,315, well above national (1,050) and state (1,025) averages.

Maric went on to say that UConn 2000, the late-1990’s investment of over $1 billion that brought construction and/or renovation that changed the campus skyline and university’s educational impact, would not have been possible without the success that Calhoun had with the men’s basketball program. She mentioned that she has spoken to many prominent donors over the years and continues to, one of them being Mark Shenkman, whose name is on the UConn football program’s training center.

 

[How Sway?!]

What non UConn events were held at the rent last fiscal year that led to a profit? And why were they not able to get them again this year?

 

[zls44]

What non UConn events were held at the rent last fiscal year that led to a profit? And why were they not able to get them again this year?

NCAA Lacrosse Final Four

 

[gioff2323]

Clueless? Are you looking in the mirror.

Top UD officials taking pay cut as university grapples with $50 million budget shortfall

As the University of Delaware grapples with millions of dollars in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, top administrators are taking a pay cut, UD announced Monday.

www.newarkpostonline.com

You seem to want to make this personal. Fine. You can’t read.

First, the stadium was built with intention of making UConn the PRIMARY tenant. Not exclusive. There’s a difference. Try websters, a little handbook assembled by a nutmegger.

I’m a UD alum and donor and I’ve worked in govt there. Sending me an article about payouts its leadership took coming out of Covid is proof of ……. And/or is related to ..,,

The state govt remains highly vested in the overall success of UD.

You’re mad because you went to a 3d rate school and we’re not bright enough to get into one of the better local schools. Get over it. Many have put their lack of academic prowess behind them and made positive changes. There’s hope for you.

But either stay on point with facts or move on.

 

[jostar1]

What non UConn events were held at the rent last fiscal year that led to a profit? And why were they not able to get them again this year?

Ironically, Fiscal Year 2021-2022 produced some of the best ‘non-UCONN” revenues in years totaling nearly $1.8 million thanks to three international soccer games and the NCAA Lacrosse Finals.

The operational gain during the year was approximately $105,000.

https://crdact.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CRDA-FY2021-2022-AnnualReport.pdf

 

[gioff2323]

Ironically, Fiscal Year 2021-2022 produced some of the best ‘non-UCONN” revenues in years totaling nearly $1.8 million thanks to three international soccer games and the NCAA Lacrosse Finals.

The operational gain during the year was approximately $105,000.

https://crdact.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CRDA-FY2021-2022-AnnualReport.pdf

Recall they’ve a crazy contractual provision that effectively says they can’t host an event unless they’re sure it’ll turn a profit. In other words, they almost have to generate gains.

And now that we’ve an adult running the football program, I’d expect the numbers to keep getting better.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Art: states should absolutely NOT be run as businesses, they do entirely different things but I'll leave it for the cesspool

True. I'll leave it at that. We need to upgrade The Rent.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Don't disagree at all with what you say. However, as a business owner, you need to look at your long term profits and ways of getting there. Being a UConn alumni has nothing to do with it. Putting in money now increases your chances of making a profit in the future, hopefully the near future (conference realignment). Running a business is a risk and putting in money into the Rent and being concerned about the athletic budget is understandable right now. However, understanding why it is that why and the best way to get out of it, is being a better business IMO.

Agree. It should be done, because the ROI will be a better football team and a P5 spot? We should plan for an expansion of the stadium. And who knows an USFL/AAF football team or pro lacrosse at the Rent?

 

[Dizzy21]

The point in the end is that if UConn or the state have an issue coming up with $24 million or $64 million, we aren't even in the minor leagues of commitment to the program. UAB didn't even have a football team like 5 years ago and they got the local government to drop $175 million on a stadium. San Diego State took out bonds to fund a $310 million stadium. Those are schools that we should be striving to be way better than and we can't even commit a fraction of what they do. Schools and states that are serious about athletics and football just get it done.

 

[CTBasketball]

The issue is, as many people point out here, there is an element of extortion in the scheduling of games at the XL center. At least in terms of mythology UConn must play half of its games in Hartford. Assuming that’s correct, then you can’t say that the University is free to schedule in Hartford or not.

To me, the issue is that the CDRA has taken advantage of the university of Connecticut as a captive tenant to mask its own ineptitude. It needs to be disbanded, at least as a sports management entity. They have yet to turn a profit on anything they’ve done. They lose millions of dollars annually, even after charging the university exorbitant lease rates. Illuminate their salary and expenses and playing in Hartford and East Hartford becomes more affordable.

Although I hate the CDRA, I don’t hate them for trying to get more money. Part of this is UConn’s inability to negotiate on its behalf.

If UConn keeps getting the wool pulled over their eyes, CDRA will keep doing it.

 

[jostar1]

I 100% agree that State pensions are a huge liability and have had a negative effect on State economic growth. But you don't acknowledge that UConn and the UConn Medical Center are the largest contributor to the State pension problem. Again, you can't have it both ways.

I would just like to point out that the former President of CCSU, Richard L. Judd, has the 9th largest pension of any retired state worker. His pension for 2022 was $274,472.

 

[CL82]

Although I hate the CDRA, I don’t hate them for trying to get more money. Part of this is UConn’s inability to negotiate on its behalf.

If UConn keeps getting the wool pulled over their eyes, CDRA will keep doing it.

Again, from what I’ve heard it isn’t so much that UConn is getting the wool pulled over eyes as the university is obligated to hold events at state owned venues for which the states quasipublic agency charges an egregiously above market rate.

As I’ve noted here often, the only thing that the state paying UConn to overpay the CDRA does is move part of the CDRA loss to the athletic department. That seems inherently disingenuous and designed to hide the ineptitude of the CDRA. If you eliminate the CDRA there’s less overhead, so less of a loss. Let UConn play there for free and keep the profits. The expenses all stay the same but instead of moving, lost to the University, you will have the university to earn money off its games.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

You seem to want to make this personal. Fine. You can’t read.

First, the stadium was built with intention of making UConn the PRIMARY tenant. Not exclusive. There’s a difference. Try websters, a little handbook assembled by a nutmegger.

I’m a UD alum and donor and I’ve worked in govt there. Sending me an article about payouts its leadership took coming out of Covid is proof of ……. And/or is related to ..,,

The state govt remains highly vested in the overall success of UD.

You’re mad because you went to a 3d rate school and we’re not bright enough to get into one of the better local schools. Get over it. Many have put their lack of academic prowess behind them and made positive changes. There’s hope for you.

But either stay on point with facts or move on.

this is a bogus and dooshy post.
the ccsu poster is just saying one narrative (amazingly for here, with links and charts and graphs and stuff), not getting all crankypants, and u bring this?
low rent (ha! on topic!).


UD's mascot is a blue chicken.
CCSU's is

CCSU wins.