The XL Center looks awful on TV

[Letsgohuskies11]

The NCAA should host the March Madness tourney at Mohegan instead of Hartford .

 

[HuskyHawk]

The reality is that you are talking out of your tookus. The XL is in much better condition than Worcester and they just lost their hockey team.

I just haven't been to XL in a few years. If it's in decent shape then people should stop bitching. How does it compare to the Dunk? I've been there often.

 

[FartMan69]

When they added the extra 5k seats to an arena built for 10k people after the roof fell off it became obsolete immediately. Although It's not really an issue of is it suitable to watch a game but rather the issue that at it's current set up it's going to lose money every year and all the band aids in the world aren't going to solve that. Wrecking ball will have to be the fate and i'll let the smarter minds make the decision on a new building.

 

[FartMan69]

I just haven't been to XL in a few years. If it's in decent shape then people should stop bitching. How does it compare to the Dunk? I've been there often.

Providence dumped the right amount of money into the building at the perfect time. The XL needed to be addressed 20 years ago and wasn't.

 

[CL82]

When they added the extra 5k seats to an arena built for 10k people after the roof fell off it became obsolete immediately.

Uh no. From memory? Roof drainage design was flawed. Used a center drain concept, which iced over. Ensuing rain caused load to exceed capacity.

 

[Ha Who]

Uh no. From memory? Roof drainage design was flawed. Used a center drain concept, which iced over. Ensuing rain caused load to exceed capacity.

No. His point is the concourse, restrooms, etc were designed for a capacity of 10,507 not 16,294

 

[TJT]

that's the old Centrum? or did they build something newer - the Centrum is about the same age as the XL

Yes. Same building - new name. Originally opened in 1982 making it a few years newer (7-10) than either the XL Center or Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence.

 

[Waquoit]

No. His point is the concourse, restrooms, etc were designed for a capacity of 10,507 not 16,294

And the concourses are more open now than they ever were.

 

[FartMan69]

Uh no. From memory? Roof drainage design was flawed. Used a center drain concept, which iced over. Ensuing rain caused load to exceed capacity.

I’m talking about after the roof fell. They added seats but didn’t make the concourse bigger hence being obsolete

 

[FartMan69]

And the concourses are more open now than they ever were.

They painted them and took the doors off the seating bowl. Still same size

 

[ct06111]

It isn’t exactly an equal comparison:

Nassau Coliseum vs Barclays
Old vs new Yankee Stadium
Sure plenty of others across US

An islander game @ the dumpy old small single concourse arena is WAY better than watching an islander game @ Barclays. I’ve been to islander playoff games in both arenas. Nassau way better.

That old, close to the action acoustics and seating @ older arenas can’t be replicated in newer arenas. You’re more into the game the closer you are. It’s louder and you can affect the players/refs/game WAY more in my opinion.

All I know is whatever replaces the XL Center, people are going to wish they still were @ HCC when it’s finally gone.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

The NCAA should host the March Madness tourney at Mohegan instead of Hartford .

I’d have to imagine Mohegan is too small for NCAA tournament. Although those first two rounds are typically sparsely attended I bet the requirement is more than 10k seats.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

The NCAA should host the March Madness tourney at Mohegan instead of Hartford .

Maybe, if the NCAA's resulting projected net profit of potentially selling several thousand fewer seats and resulting possible revenue made sense. Without knowing the actual costs and revenues, it's pure speculation. Finally, what's the likelihood the NCAA cares more about net profits than some perceptions of arena concourse size, stale beer, urinal viewership, etc.?

 

[whaler11]

It isn’t exactly an equal comparison:

Nassau Coliseum vs Barclays
Old vs new Yankee Stadium
Sure plenty of others across US

An islander game @ the dumpy old small single concourse arena is WAY better than watching an islander game @ Barclays. I’ve been to islander playoff games in both arenas. Nassau way better.

That old, close to the action acoustics and seating @ older arenas can’t be replicated in newer arenas. You’re more into the game the closer you are. It’s louder and you can affect the players/refs/game WAY more in my opinion.

All I know is whatever replaces the XL Center, people are going to wish they still were @ HCC when it’s finally gone.

nassau is better for one specific sport -

and the islanders are falling all over themselves to build a new arena

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Maybe, if the NCAA's resulting projected net profit of potentially selling several thousand fewer seats and resulting possible revenue made sense. Without knowing the actual costs and revenues, it's pure speculation. Finally, what's the likelihood the NCAA cares more about net profits than some perceptions of arena concourse size, stale beer, urinal viewership, etc.?

they dont sell beer at the NCAA tournament

 

[CL82]

I’m talking about after the roof fell. They added seats but didn’t make the concourse bigger hence being obsolete

Ah got it.

 

[CL82]

I’d have to imagine Mohegan is too small for NCAA tournament. Although those first two rounds are typically sparsely attended I bet the requirement is more than 10k seats.

Woman's AAC has been played there and the league has gotten good feedback. It's a decent venue for tourney play because of the food/shopping options. Not sure if the NCAA will balk because it is a casino.

 

[HooperScooper]

they dont sell beer at the NCAA tournament

They will this year.

NCAA Ending Restriction On Alcohol Sales At D-I Championships

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

They will this year.

NCAA Ending Restriction On Alcohol Sales At D-I Championships

should of been done a long time ago.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Woman's AAC has been played there and the league has gotten good feedback. It's a decent venue for tourney play because of the food/shopping options. Not sure if the NCAA will balk because it is a casino.

I have some news you may find surprising: the AAC WBB Tournament may have different requirements than the NCAA MBB tournament.

 

[Zanzman]

Bingo. I went to Fenway this summer and it's a total sh^thole. Our seats had no cupholders and were incredibly uncomfortable, much more so than Wrigley. The Red Sox win so nobody gives a . If we were winning nobody would care. You go for the basketball, not for the bathrooms.

No cup holder is a deal breaker lol

 

[TJT]

The TD Garden (1995) in Boston is getting a $100M upgrade. A entirely separate new complex is being built in front of it along Causeway Street on the site of the original Garden (site had been vacant some 25 years). It will have retail, entertainment, and hotel lodging. Part of the new complex space (50,000SF) will be incorporated into the Garden to expand concourse areas. The new structure will also have an atrium which will become the new street entrance to the Garden.

The Garden already has two separate concourse levels for patrons and two other levels in between for luxury suites. It was a far more pleasant experience attending all day NCAA Tournament sessions at the Garden than any of the other New England arenas with just a single concourse level. Doing both 2 game NCAA sessions makes for a long day and while you may want to leave your seat and stretch your legs, you did not dare do so at places like the XL Center, DDC, or DCU Center given the crowds between games and difficulty to get around and or visit either the concessions or restrooms.


5 things to know about the $100 million upgrade to TD Garden
5 things to know about the $100 million upgrade to TD Garden | Boston.com

 

[CL82]

I have some news you may find surprising: the AAC WBB Tournament may have different requirements than the NCAA MBB tournament.

Shocking.

Just making the point that it is a really good venue for a conference tournament. Whether it is for an early round NCAA game is debatable. We'll see if they get more than 10K at the XL.

 

[CL82]

The TD Garden (1995) in Boston is getting a $100M upgrade. A entirely separate new complex is being built in front of it along Causeway Street on the site of the original Garden (site had been vacant some 25 years). It will have retail, entertainment, and hotel lodging. Part of the new complex space (50,000SF) will be incorporated into the Garden to expand concourse areas. The new structure will also have an atrium which will become the new street entrance to the Garden.

The Garden already has two separate concourse levels for patrons and two other levels in between for luxury suites. It was a far more pleasant experience attending all day NCAA Tournament sessions at the Garden than any of the other New England arenas with just a single concourse level. Doing both 2 game NCAA sessions makes for a long day and while you may want to leave your seat and stretch your legs, you did not dare do so at places like the XL Center, DDC, or DCU Center given the crowds between games and difficulty to get around and or visit either the concessions or restrooms.


5 things to know about the $100 million upgrade to TD Garden
5 things to know about the $100 million upgrade to TD Garden | Boston.com

Can we move the old TD Garden to East Hartford near the Rent?

 

[kemba]

It isn’t exactly an equal comparison:

Nassau Coliseum vs Barclays
Old vs new Yankee Stadium
Sure plenty of others across US

An islander game @ the dumpy old small single concourse arena is WAY better than watching an islander game @ Barclays. I’ve been to islander playoff games in both arenas. Nassau way better.

That old, close to the action acoustics and seating @ older arenas can’t be replicated in newer arenas. You’re more into the game the closer you are. It’s louder and you can affect the players/refs/game WAY more in my opinion.

All I know is whatever replaces the XL Center, people are going to wish they still were @ HCC when it’s finally gone.

Don't care about hockey but my understanding is the main issue there is that Barclays wasn't really built for hockey.

There's nothing special about the acoustics or seating at XL, especially not for basketball. It doesn't have that fans right on top of you feeling in the lower levels. The top of the upper level feels extremely far away.

Nobody would miss XL if they replaced it, there is nothing particularly good about it. I could see this argument made if they replaced Gampel with a more modern arena, not XL

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

they dont sell beer at the NCAA tournament

And, no beer (apparently no longer applies) yet not everyone drinks at all or at games at any arena. So, the same questions regarding projected total net profit remain outstanding: XL vs Mohegan Sun arena.

 

[Alum86]

"Like anyone would pay money to set foot in the Boston Garden..."

The Garden was head and shoulders a better place to watch a game than the Fleet/TDgarden whatever.

As for the rest, hilarious! Don't go in the concourse without a police escort!! Unreal.

Guess what? The Bills stadium still has bleachers, and it's a fantastic place to see a game. Stadium was built over a half century ago.

Pansies.

1973. Under 50. And it has heated seats in places.

 

[AAC Guru]

Don't care about hockey but my understanding is the main issue there is that Barclays wasn't really built for hockey.

There's nothing special about the acoustics or seating at XL, especially not for basketball. It doesn't have that fans right on top of you feeling in the lower levels. The top of the upper level feels extremely far away.

Nobody would miss XL if they replaced it, there is nothing particularly good about it. I could see this argument made if they replaced Gampel with a more modern arena, not XL

To add to this the corporate boxes are in the rafters.

 

[UConnNick]

Loved the Garden. The 8 foot long lichen hanging from the ceiling just added to the charm of the place.

What I particularly liked was stumbling over homeless people that seemed to be living in nooks and crannies, with the train station being there. I only went to the old Garden once for a Bob Dylan concert while I was at UCONN. It was weird because the concert started mid afternoon.

 

[CL82]

Saw the Bruins play the Canadian in the Stanley Cup in the old garden, just a great, great venue.