you are wrong on so many levels...
a) have you been to Gillette Stadium/Patriots Place? It's not a standalone Bass Pro Shops. There are other venues for both shopping and dining. Even a hotel, medical center, and other entertainment options
b) multi-plex theater? seriously? how many shuttered theaters do you pass on 84 and 91 going through the state?
c) grew up in CT and never made trips to NYC specifically for shopping. Westfarms, West Hartford Center, Bishops Corner, and Rt 44 in Avon had everything.
Since I am wrong, why have no other leases been signed? Have you seen the sales reports and shopping patterns for west of the river? Have you paid any attention to the demographics and shopping profiles east of the river? Do you know the sales volume at Clinton/Westbrook? Do you understand the demographic requirements, traffic counts and radii that outlet stores focus on? Every outlet retailer that would consider a store at the Rent has way more data on CT shopping patterns than you could ever dream of. They know who shops, where they come from and how much they spend on each visit. There is no reason for outlet shopping to be at the Rent. The numbers don't lie. Visit the Tanger website and look at their map and you can see where they like to locate.
And to compare Patriot Place to the Rent, that is not wrong?
Gillette hosts events at least 100 days a year between the Pats, the Revs, concerts, lacrosse and Pats training camp. The Rent, maybe 20. Throw in for good measure the concert facility in Mansfield with another 50-80 nights per year with events. That supports the hotels, shopping and restaurants.
The nearest shopping center/major mall relative to Gillette were 12 to 15 miles and the only lifestyle center that existed in that area of SE MA was about 30 miles away.
The area was severely under retailed for over 20 years. The Hartford area has 3 malls (Westfarms, Buckland and Enfield, altho Enfield is on Deathwatch). It also has a lifestyle center at Evergreen Walk. Every major etailer has multiple stores within 15 miles of the Rent. Some studies suggest east of the River is over retailed.
The area was even more under hoteled for even longer. Best hotel for many years was a Holiday Inn. With about 200 event nights per year within 10 miles, hotels were a natural choice.
The income demographics and population patterns supported significant retail expansion. Beyond Patriot Place, there were at least 3 other major retail developments along 495 taht have gone up and all have very high occupancy and strong sales.
Kraft got the state to pay for all of the road improvements to the stadium and Patriot Place. Without those free infrastructure improvements, the costs would have made the development unfeasible. Throw in some of the tax breaks he has, and the numbers worked.
The Rent area can not support traditional retail and no one is going to build a major retail center there. So the option and logical choice is to make it an entertainment related venue. Cabela's is a unique draw. Play on it with more reasons for people spend an entire day in East Hartford that also compliments the stadium.
Yes, movie theaters. The shuttered theaters are that way because they are obsolete and their chains went out of business (Showcase). The cinemas at Buckland Hills are way outdated in almost every way but have decent sales. The cinemas in Hartford/West Hartford are marginally better. The sales volume suggest that a modern facility would fit in the market. If you have ever been to some of the brand new multi-plexes around the country, you would get it it.
Build restaurants and bars around it. Think a Buffalo Wild Wings, On the Border, Geno's, Frank Pepe's, Plan B, Max, Wood N Tap, etc. along with some slightly higher end restaurants would not work? Put some other niche retail around it to occupy people while they wait for their movie or table. That would work if the rents are right. It won't work with just Cabelas. Not enough bodies coming to just Cabelas.
