UCONN hockey program won't be complete until on-campus barn/team facility opens

[brasssbonanzaa]

It'll return moderate upgrades that would not be enough to lure an NHL team, (which is not coming as long as Bettman is in office) will force UConn to be used as a pawn to bolster the number of events there and justify the cost, while bringing down the hockey program's ability to recruit and compete in Hockey East since the arena will in all likelihood still be behind BU, ND, and Lowell in terms of quality, and behind Maine, Northeastern, and BC in terms of desirability for a recruit.

 

[FDNY99]

Going from a Big East contender to one of the worst FBS teams in a matter of a couple years may have helped to be fair.

The EXACT point I'm trying to get at here with hockey...if they don't fix the Freitas issue..even if it is just renovating it as a practice only facility..but make it the best one in the country..one that Cav can show off..one that makes kids say "HOLY !"..then at the end of the day UCONN hockey won't win..and when they don't win..attendance in the high 3000's will be a miracle

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

The EXACT point I'm trying to get at here with hockey...if they don't fix the Freitas issue..even if it is just renovating it as a practice only facility..but make it the best one in the country..one that Cav can show off..one that makes kids say "HOLY !"..then at the end of the day UCONN hockey won't win..and when they don't win..attendance in the high 3000's will be a miracle

Even if they did that, it's a tough sell. Yeah a practice facility is great, but players want to practice where they play. UConn would be the only team in Hockey East and the country that would not be able to sell that to anyone. It'd be another Band-Aid fix, and Cav knows it.

 

[FDNY99]

Even if they did that, it's a tough sell. Yeah a practice facility is great, but players want to practice where they play. UConn would be the only team in Hockey East and the country that would not be able to sell that to anyone. It'd be another Band-Aid fix, and Cav knows it.

Honestly after seeing his quotes in that article...I would not be surprised in the least if another HE job opened up that he looks to move on. In my mind he was basically sold a bill of goods....

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Honestly after seeing his quotes in that article...I would not be surprised in the least if another HE job opened up that he looks to move on. In my mind he was basically sold a bill of goods....

Unfortunately, if we won't (or can't) invest in the men's program to a level where we would be in the top handful of HE programs, then Cav was sold a bill of goods.

 

[huskymedic]

In that post, I was then trying to say they probably don't have the $ right now. So I was saying that the XL is a good investment for the state to make because it needs to be done and UConn can benefit from the suites, loges, advertising boards, other $ streams for not only hockey, but also basketball, tournaments, TV, exposure, and growing the brand in state and abroad.

If I'm not mistaken the XLC manager/operator retains the rights/revenue to the premium seating. Did I miss the agreement (possible) where the State said they would be sharing the other revenue lines w/ UConn?

 

[ct06111]

If I'm not mistaken the XLC manager/operator retains the rights/revenue to the premium seating. Did I miss the agreement (possible) where the State said they would be sharing the other revenue lines w/ UConn?

I haven't read the agreement at all other than reading courant articles about the XL renovations mentioning a possible long term agreement and crda agenda/meeting minutes. You could be right and state takes it all, I'm not sure.

I would like to read these 3 yr and this 30/20 yr agreement/contract.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I haven't read the agreement at all other than reading courant articles about the XL renovations mentioning a possible long term agreement and crda agenda/meeting minutes. You could be right and state takes it all, I'm not sure.

I would like to read these 3 yr and this 30/20 yr agreement/contract.

With respect to the hockey program, the text of the agreement is absolutely irrelevant compared to the text of Cav's and Bertagna's quotes.

 

[ct06111]

With respect to the hockey program, the text of the agreement is absolutely irrelevant compared to the text of Cav's and Bertagna's quotes.

Brasssbonanaa,
Huskymedic asked me a question. Write a check and a letter to Warde Manuel and Dannel a letter if you don't like the deal.

Here are some quotes for you:
"Hockey East bylaws require UConn to have a more suitable on-campus facility than Freitas, and when the Huskies agreed to join the conference in 2012, the school said it would begin construction by fall 2016. But a few games into UConn's second season in the conference, the deadline is somewhat looser, given the success of games the Huskies have hosted at the XL Center in downtown Hartford".

^^^See, I wrote about this earlier in thread…

"Even league commissioner Joe Bertagna acknowledged that if UConn were to build a state-of-the-art arena in Storrs, most home games still would be played at the XL Center."

Now in his third season at UConn, Cavanaugh said he stresses to recruits that people, not buildings, are the foundation for a strong program.

"I do say that," Cavanaugh said.
"If I get upset about the facility every day, it's like getting upset about a hooking call."

 

[FDNY99]

Dannel should be worrying about a LOT more than UCONN Hockey....it shouldn't even be a blip on his radar...besides when his present term is up and he goes back down this way to Stamford he will get QUICK amnesia about where the XL Center is and if UCONN even plays hockey..never mind what conference it is in. As for Cav..your last 2 sentences pretty much sum his feelings about Freitas. And don't tell me to write a check..I have been writing checks to UCONN Athletics since 2002. My rant is about doing this the right way...not half-a s s e d. What is happening now is half-a s s e d....and it is that way because Malloy stuck his nose into something he knows nothing about...the world of college athletics.

Brasssbonanaa,
Huskymedic asked me a question. Write a check and a letter to Warde Manuel and Dannel a letter if you don't like the deal.

Here are some quotes for you:
"Hockey East bylaws require UConn to have a more suitable on-campus facility than Freitas, and when the Huskies agreed to join the conference in 2012, the school said it would begin construction by fall 2016. But a few games into UConn's second season in the conference, the deadline is somewhat looser, given the success of games the Huskies have hosted at the XL Center in downtown Hartford".

^^^See, I wrote about this earlier in thread…

"Even league commissioner Joe Bertagna acknowledged that if UConn were to build a state-of-the-art arena in Storrs, most home games still would be played at the XL Center."

Now in his third season at UConn, Cavanaugh said he stresses to recruits that people, not buildings, are the foundation for a strong program.

"I do say that," Cavanaugh said.
"If I get upset about the facility every day, it's like getting upset about a hooking call."

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Brasssbonanaa,
Huskymedic asked me a question. Write a check and a letter to Warde Manuel and Dannel a letter if you don't like the deal.

Here are some quotes for you:
"Hockey East bylaws require UConn to have a more suitable on-campus facility than Freitas, and when the Huskies agreed to join the conference in 2012, the school said it would begin construction by fall 2016. But a few games into UConn's second season in the conference, the deadline is somewhat looser, given the success of games the Huskies have hosted at the XL Center in downtown Hartford".

^^^See, I wrote about this earlier in thread…

"Even league commissioner Joe Bertagna acknowledged that if UConn were to build a state-of-the-art arena in Storrs, most home games still would be played at the XL Center."

Now in his third season at UConn, Cavanaugh said he stresses to recruits that people, not buildings, are the foundation for a strong program.

"I do say that," Cavanaugh said.
"If I get upset about the facility every day, it's like getting upset about a hooking call."

Your first bold quote is not a quote from anyone, that's the writer making that comment, editorializing a little bit. But if you can't see the disdain in Cav's quote you have bolded, I don't know what to tell you. When a coach is telling his recruits that it's people, not buildings, that are the foundations of the program, it's damn clear he knows he's going uphill. The problem he has, and that he knows, is that there are a good number of other programs in Hockey East and around the country that have BOTH the facilities and the people. If he doesn't have one, he's screwed and knows it - and when York hangs up the whistle that job up there is going to look mighty appealing.

There's a reason Bertagna doesn't speak to governors a lot - he has no reason to. There's no question New Hampshire is behind UNH, Maine behind UMaine, Vermont behind UVM, Massachusetts behind UMass (though they almost axed Lowell!). The reason he has to talk to Malloy is because Malloy has to convince him that Connecticut is behind UConn with these asinine plans that fit the mold of exactly zero programs in the country, and that require going against the agreement made between the conference and UConn with respect to an on-campus facility. If Malloy has anyone who is actively monitoring the HE situation he'd know that there are rumblings of Notre Dame leaving Hockey East within a few years. That person would be smart enough to know that two things could happen were that the case - neither of which is a positive for UConn. Either ND leaves, QU is added and we're back at 12, except now UConn has in-state competition. Or, say ND leaves, UConn's program is still muddling along, XL renovations are maybe coming along at some point, inevitably dragged through the mud in the legislature. There comes a point where UConn risks being booted out of Hockey East and the conference goes back to 10. It's a very low probability, especially since they never kicked Merrimack out despite being a garbage dump of a program for decades. But renegging on agreements with the conference, renovations not happening, the program not improving, and the looming possibility of the coach leaving all do not bode well for UConn. Of course all of that is 100% speculation on my part, and I do not believe there's a good chance at all it would happen. But, if Malloy has someone on his staff monitoring the HE landscape, that's what the internal discussion is in his office. And that's why he's having talks with Bertagna. There's a strong case to be made that it's not a good thing they're talking, but rather a precautionary measure.

 

[MASSconn]

Hartford is a crap city and UCONN needs to stop thinking it's main campus is located there.

If your head Men's Hockey and Men's Basketball coaches hate playing there, you should listen to them. It's not like our biggest donors live in Hartford. Most of them are closer to NYC. Doesn't make that big of a difference.

Build a freaking barn on campus and have half the games there. Unacceptable if this doesn't happen.

 

[Waquoit]

Hartford is a crap city and UCONN needs to stop thinking it's main campus is located there.

Here's where you Hartford haters miss the point, you continue to maintain that playing in Hartford is only about propping up Hartford. Wrong. It's a symbiotic relationship. "Only" 5.25K for the BU game? You aren't getting anywhere near that if the game is in Storrs. The fan base has spoken in hoop. You say the coaches hate the XL. The fact is the ticket-buying fans hate going to Gampel, especially during the week. Wisely, the AD is striving to accommodate both. So what if other schools don't have two homes. They don't have 14 titles either.

 

[FDNY99]

Here's where you Hartford haters miss the point, you continue to maintain that playing in Hartford is only about propping up Hartford. Wrong. It's a symbiotic relationship. "Only" 5.25K for the BU game? You aren't getting anywhere near that if the game is in Storrs. The fan base has spoken in hoop. You say the coaches hate the XL. The fact is the ticket-buying fans hate going to Gampel, especially during the week. Wisely, the AD is striving to accommodate both. So what if other schools don't have two homes. They don't have 14 titles either.

I'll disagree with you on the attendance for BU on campus...but let's look at things for second...if UCONN and Hartford have a "symbiotic relationship" as you said above...then why does;t the CRDA scale back the project..make UCONN the main tenant of the XL for the 30 games per yr and build it out to 12-15K. It's not like it will sell out at 18K for a basketball game anymore....and the NHL coming back to Hartford is a pipe dream that won't happen in this century.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Here's where you Hartford haters miss the point, you continue to maintain that playing in Hartford is only about propping up Hartford. Wrong. It's a symbiotic relationship. "Only" 5.25K for the BU game? You aren't getting anywhere near that if the game is in Storrs. The fan base has spoken in hoop. You say the coaches hate the XL. The fact is the ticket-buying fans hate going to Gampel, especially during the week. Wisely, the AD is striving to accommodate both. So what if other schools don't have two homes. They don't have 14 titles either.

You're living in some alternate universe if you believe there were 5,200 there last night, there were not, that's at least 1,000 too many. The combined 30 hockey championships of the teams that were ahead of UConn in attendance last year, all playing on campus, roundly disagree with your last point.

 

[Waquoit]

I'll disagree with you on the attendance for BU on campus...make UCONN the main tenant of the XL for the 30 games per yr and build it out to 12-15K. It's not like it will sell out at 18K for a basketball game anymore...

We can disagree on 1st point. But I'm right. From what I saw last night, there were many, many fans that could be described as belonging to the Women's BB demographic. They aren't driving to Storrs on a Tuesday night. They don't do so for hoop, I'm gonna guess it would be the same for hockey.

And while the BB team doesn't draw 16K for hoop in this crap league. they will when we're in the B1G.

 

[Dooley]

Hartford needs a new arena or a very new model of the current arena. Period. If they want to make UConn the main tenant (like Raleigh, NC did with NC State), that's fine. Let the Wolfpack walk and then let UConn keep a good chunk of revenue generated from gamedays for hoops and hockey. It only makes sense for UConn if they can keep money from ticket sales and some of the concessions. They appease their alumni and fans who don't want to drive to Storrs on a Tuesday night by playing games more centrally located. It makes sense for Hartford regardless because UConn gamedays/nights are really the only days/nights that people voluntarily go into downtown Hartford and spend money.

Either way, UConn needs to, at the very least, build a Champions Center type of facility on-campus for hockey. Whether it includes 4K seating for a handful of weeknight on-campus games or not, it should include state-of-the-art training, nutrition, meeting rooms, coach's offices, study halls, etc. That is very much needed for recruiting and player development.

The negative perceptions that UConn is tagged with over football recruiting territorial location do not apply to hockey one bit. We are smack dab in the middle of one of the richest areas for youth hockey. With our AD budget, brand, size and student body/alumni numbers, there is no reason why UConn can't emerge as a national hockey power fairly soon. But to make that happen, an on-campus facility is an absolute must.

 

[FDNY99]

http://dailycampus.com/stories/2015/10/27/column-uconn-hockey-belongs-in-hartford
I actually like the thought process in this article....I would be ok with just the XL as long as the hockey programs get a practice facility that will give them everything they need to recruit and prepare their teams to win at an high level. But renovating Freitas to hold 4500-5000 and at the same time providing a state of the art team facility while continuing to play the bigger games (7-8 per year) at the XL works even better (and for the record is what I have been behind all along..).

 

[Dooley]

And while the BB team doesn't draw 16K for hoop in this crap league. they will when we're in the B1G.

^ This. Gampel was built way too small. Jeff Hathaway and UConn also missed a golden opportunity to expand the Rent to P5 levels back in the mid-2000s. The same mistakes cannot be made with the new Hartford arena. It doesn't need to be a behemoth, but building it with max capacity at 10-12K will be a mistake once UConn is playing home games against Michigan St, Wisconsin, Maryland, Ohio St, Michigan, etc. It should cater to the changing environment (i.e. "bar lounge" areas, standing areas for casual fans, luxury suites for the high rollers, etc), but capacity needs to remain at P5 levels. No question about that.

 

[FDNY99]

We can disagree on 1st point. But I'm right. From what I saw last night, there were many, many fans that could be described as belonging to the Women's BB demographic. They aren't driving to Storrs on a Tuesday night. They don't do so for hoop, I'm gonna guess it would be the same for hockey.

And while the BB team doesn't draw 16K for hoop in this crap league. they will when we're in the B1G.

I'll say this...I sit right behind the UCONN bench on the glass...I have been looking at the crowd every game since the place was packed against BC. I think the novelty has worn off a bit and attendance has plateaued out for most games....we will see 5000-5500 each game..which isn't bad at all for college hockey...BUT in an area that is built to hold 18K is gonna look empty. Now let's approach the B1G issue you brought up....for hoops yes B1G competition will bring back a packed house...like our old BE rivalries did. Hockey on the other hand IMHO will suffer. B1G hockey won't bring the crowds...outside of Minnesota Wisconsin is in desperate need of an overhaul, tOSU, MSU and UM aren't to the level of BU, BC and PC and PSU & ASU are new programs. The B1G is going to be a double edged sword with hockey for us.

 

[FDNY99]

^ This. Gampel was built way too small. Jeff Hathaway and UConn also missed a golden opportunity to expand the Rent to P5 levels back in the mid-2000s. The same mistakes cannot be made with the new Hartford arena. It doesn't need to be a behemoth, but building it with max capacity at 10-12K will be a mistake once UConn is playing home games against Michigan St, Wisconsin, Maryland, Ohio St, Michigan, etc. It should cater to the changing environment (i.e. "bar lounge" areas, standing areas for casual fans, luxury suites for the high rollers, etc), but capacity needs to remain at P5 levels. No question about that.

Gampel was built too small for a reason...I have said it here before,,my cousins husband was on the team that designed Gampel..they were told to submit 2 designs..1 of which was how it was built..the other expandable too make it double in size. It was built "too small" because of one reason...the XL Center...

 

[Dooley]

http://dailycampus.com/stories/2015/10/27/column-uconn-hockey-belongs-in-hartford
I actually like the thought process in this article....I would be ok with just the XL as long as the hockey programs get a practice facility that will give them everything they need to recruit and prepare their teams to win at an high level. But renovating Freitas to hold 4500-5000 and at the same time providing a state of the art team facility while continuing to play the bigger games (7-8 per year) at the XL works even better (and for the record is what I have been behind all along..).

I think that could work. I didn't even think about the soccer renovations coming. If they married the two, it would help keep costs low and at the same time, not require any additional land to be found/re-purposed.

 

[Dooley]

Gampel was built too small for a reason...I have said it here before,,my cousins husband was on the team that designed Gampel..they were told to submit 2 designs..1 of which was how it was built..the other expandable too make it double in size. It was built "too small" because of one reason...the XL Center...

Right. Which is exactly why the XL Center needs to continue to dwarf Gampel capacity. You can't cut 3-5K seats out of XL and provide the same financial gains to UConn for playing games there as they have now. XL (or the new arena) needs to maintain 15K capacity minimum.

Renovated XL/New Arena: 15-16K for hoops
Curtained off for hockey: 8-9K
Freitas Arena: 4500

The renovated/new arena should be reconfigured so that the lower bowl seats the 8-9K for hockey. It's absurd to think that the current arena seats 2/3 of the fans in the building so far away from the action. They will need to make it more intimate as well and expand on the lower bowl (and move some luxury suites closer to the ice/court too) to bring it into the 21 century.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

http://dailycampus.com/stories/2015/10/27/column-uconn-hockey-belongs-in-hartford
I actually like the thought process in this article....I would be ok with just the XL as long as the hockey programs get a practice facility that will give them everything they need to recruit and prepare their teams to win at an high level. But renovating Freitas to hold 4500-5000 and at the same time providing a state of the art team facility while continuing to play the bigger games (7-8 per year) at the XL works even better (and for the record is what I have been behind all along..).

It's an interesting argument but the problem is a practice facility alone will not give them everything they need to recruit at a high level. It would most certainly help, but it only takes them part of the way.

 

[FDNY99]

It's an interesting argument but the problem is a practice facility alone will not give them everything they need to recruit at a high level. It would most certainly help, but it only takes them part of the way.

IMHO end game for UCONN Hockey..sometime after the 2017-2018 season is finished they will be moving into a upgraded Freitas that will seat 4500 (with option to increase capacity to 5000 down the road) and also include a team facility on par with what UCONN is known for. They will play high profile teams like BC, BU, QU, PC and ND at the XL Center. I can also see a bid being put in for the Frozen Four at the XL Center as well.