XL Center- Plan C, D or ??? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

XL Center- Plan C, D or ???

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Good enough. Then they should have stuck with the eminent domain in '18, taken the property and cut a check for the fair value. Backing off the eminent domain has me wondering if there are other negotiations (threats) going on between the parties unrelated to XL.
Eminent domain is a politically toxic move. I know Supreme Court ruled in Kelo that it can be used to go from private owner to another private owner, let’s be honest, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze there. CRDA is quasi public, this would end up in Supreme Court again imo. Tying it up for the next 2-3 years with unclear result.
 

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Eminent domain is a politically toxic move. I know Supreme Court ruled in Kelo that it can be used to go from private owner to another private owner, let’s be honest, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze there. CRDA is quasi public, this would end up in Supreme Court again imo. Tying it up for the next 2-3 years with unclear result.

I think there is a huge gulf between Kelo where they took private property from one person and gave it to another to generate more tax revenue and what would need to be done here. For one XL is a state funded and supported facility and Northland isn't doing anything with the atrium. To me this is more akin to someone holding a deed on an easement or finding a 200 year old deed and using it for bargaining.
 
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We're never getting the NHL back in Hartford. We blew it. CT stopped following the team once it was not shiny and new and they were bottom 3 in attendance for enough years to drive them out of town.

Then the Rangers were smart enough to put their minor league team here. The NHL would never put a team here with us having the Rangers farm team with the Rangers, Devils and Bruins all within 2 hours. It's never ever ever happening.
 
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And to pick at the Yard Goats scab and the development there.

That park was supposed to open in 2016 and didn't. Sat empty for a year. They opened to great success in 2017 and played there to sell out crowds in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Then sat empty for another year due to COVID.

That park is 5 years old now with 2 dead seasons and they're just breaking ground in the development around there....and who knows when or what that turn out like? Hartford did that park and team a disservice and would flop the same with a new XL reno.
 

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And to pick at the Yard Goats scab and the development there.

That park was supposed to open in 2016 and didn't. Sat empty for a year. They opened to great success in 2017 and played there to sell out crowds in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Then sat empty for another year due to COVID.

That park is 5 years old now with 2 dead seasons and they're just breaking ground in the development around there....and who knows when or what that turn out like? Hartford did that park and team a disservice and would flop the same with a new XL reno.
Is it still the plan to have a Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe be the centerpiece of the development around the park?
 
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Luxury bunkers, lol.

it’s a bad trend to ruin prime seating in favor of a bar area. Move the bar areas across the concourses so they don’t interfere with seating. Accept that this is an old building. Make the seating and viewing of the actual event as nice as possible.

if the bar venues are nice enough they will attract pre game and post game anyway. In Philly we have the Xfinity Live! venue across the parking lot and not even attached to the arena. It thrives even for college events. Some students and fans watch the game there and don’t even enter the arena.
 
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Awful take.

You say you both want a 12k-14k and something that will attract an NHL team. Do you you realize the incongruity in those statements?

And that doesn't even get in to of Hartford built an 18k-20k state of art arena, they aren't getting an NHL team.
Well true I don’t know anything about hockey or the NHL because Hockey sucks but I do think it would be huge for the city. If that’s the case then I have no issue with what they’re proposing.

Either way you’re a dick.
 

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Well true I don’t know anything about hockey or the NHL because Hockey sucks but I do think it would be huge for the city. If that’s the case then I have no issue with what they’re proposing.

Either way you’re a dick.

Yes, I am. Long and distinguished. Which is why your mom loves it so much.

But at least I don't enter a thread suggesting Hartford build a 12k-14k arena to attrack an NHL team and then admit I don't follow or know the sport.
 

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That park is 5 years old now with 2 dead seasons and they're just breaking ground in the development around there....and who knows when or what that turn out like? Hartford did that park and team a disservice and would flop the same with a new XL reno.
So much bad faith here it's not worth dissecting.
 
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So much bad faith here it's not worth dissecting.

This isn't a "faith" issue. It's a business venture. And again, 2 years out of 5 (40%) of that parks revenue is virtually 0.00 and there still is not a single new business in the surrounding area. At what point does your faith change that? 2025?
 

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So much bad faith here it's not worth dissecting.
Real estate development and CT is a very challenging endeavor. Our operational costs are high (taxes, utilities, labor, snow removal - seriously the cost burden is substantial) which eat into the leverage that multi family developers need to build in the first place. I know we are proudly steeped in the notion that CT rents are high, but they actually aren't they aren't that high outside of New Haven and lower FF County. "Moderate rents" + high operational costs + high constr costs = stalled projects. The other challenge, equity players in this space have 50 other better (ie safer) markets to consider when placing multi family equity investments. So sink $5 to $15 million leveraged equity in a development in Hartford or the same set up in X market? Most choose X market. Most X markets have a better rent growth story. Rent growth (just like revenue growth in stocks) is how equity investors unlock returns. National players in multi family development would tell you that Hartford and central CT is a tougher market than others to get new constr rental housing built for these reasons.
 

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This isn't a "faith" issue. It's a business venture. And again, 2 years out of 5 (40%) of that parks revenue is virtually 0.00 and there still is not a single new business in the surrounding area. At what point does your faith change that? 2025?
Faith doesn't mean bad faith. Bad Faith is using the year before the stadium was completed and a year where no baseball stadium had any attendance in your calculations. Only matched by the bad faith of the original developers.
 
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It’s just so frustrating reading interviews with officials like this - about any similar subject. There’s never any real vision, much less passion, or even an understanding of the fan/consumer base regarding the specific subject.

The XL Center is crappy, yes. But, it’s also the site of some big moments for the region and holds many important memories for thousands and thousands of people. Try to figure out a way to tap into that - or at least understand it. Any sort of vision or imagination is better than just being like “‍welp a lot of other arenas have these bunker suites, might as well throw a hundred mil at it and see if it works”
 

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Any sort of vision or imagination is better than just being like “‍welp a lot of other arenas have these bunker suites, might as well throw a hundred mil at it and see if it works”
Concourse improvements doesn't sound sexy but if they can come up with something viable it would go a long way.
 
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This isn't a "faith" issue. It's a business venture. And again, 2 years out of 5 (40%) of that parks revenue is virtually 0.00 and there still is not a single new business in the surrounding area. At what point does your faith change that? 2025?
Yeah it’s Hartford’s fault that covid hit
 
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Concourse improvements doesn't sound sexy but if they can come up with something viable it would go a long way.

agreed. It was more just the tone of the guy.

16k = Elton John.

No duh UConn has been pulling 8k the past few years. That’s what happens when you suck and play ECU on a Sunday.

(dependent on how fan behavior is impacted by Covid) I expect, with the program on the upswing and being in the Big East, games to routinely draw well over 12k
 
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Faith doesn't mean bad faith. Bad Faith is using the year before the stadium was completed and a year where no baseball stadium had any attendance in your calculations. Only matched by the bad faith of the original developers.

So walk me through how the XL reno would be better run....and even close to as good a result.
 
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Freimuth specializes in losing money and being in over his head. So many bad ideas, where to start?
He’s living back in the 1980’s Hartford. Nothing he says rings true.

I haven’t eaten more than a couple pretzels at XL in 30 years. But the best way to increase concessions revenues is to get people out of the restroom lines and into the concession areas before the game and at halftime by building much greater restroom capacity. This shouldn’t be a huge ticket item just get it done.

Another thought, staff the entrance gates better, so people get inside sooner to spend money. Freimuth just doesn’t get business other than have your lobbyist friends bail you out with bad bills and pay off your political cronies with no bid contracts. So what when you lose even more money again, repeat the process.

What Freimuth and believe it or not Benedict seem to not acknowledge is that UConn has promised season ticket holders they can keep their SAME seats for the UConn seat donation. Now Freimuth is blowing all that up with apparently UConn’s ok. Very strange especially since these are the same loyal customers who are paying seat donations at 50% to 100% of what they would be paying if they actually had games to attend this year - so they can keep them in the future.

I think it’s a bad business practice not to treat customers in the upper bowl with minimum respect. They are your future lower bowl people in some instances but that doesn’t matter. Give them restrooms, nice seats etc.

Hartford is NOT the home to corporate HQ’s any more. UTC and Aetna are the two latest casualties. With good and exciting games we can make money through volume not this mindless luxary mythology.
Chief you really can’t have it both ways. You want an updated facility maybe you have to chang seats. It’s that simple. And the attendance Thing is just not sustainable in any case. As I pointed out in detail in another thread UConn had been seeing attendance decline since 2006 or there about. Despite 2 national championships In the period. The days of people shelling out money to watch the Huskies obliterate Texas Southern or Central Connecticut are gone and not coming back. They will likely have a short term blip with the new Big East, but it isn’t lasting 5 years. Live attendance at sporting events is just not what it was in 1996. Not in Fenway Park, not in Yankee Stadium, not at the Dean Dome and not at the XL center. Building/renovating more seats to attract fewer fans is just not reasonable. Within a couple of years UConn in the Big East won’t be that big a deal. Schedule a non-conference game wit UNC or Michigan State or Duke and you can sell out anywhere. But games with midlevel Big East teams will draw 7500.
 
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When you have a facility that could.draw 16000 maybe 5 times a year But actually seats less than 50% of that for 95% of its operations, you need to make it work well for the smaller events not the big ones. A lot of schools did this with their football stadiums in the early 2000s. Rutgers, UNC are two. Neither one sells out now. BC did it too. First couple of ACC seasons they sold out. Last time UConn played there their two biggest crowds were Clemson and UConn At like 38000 and 35000.
 

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So walk me through how the XL reno would be better run....and even close to as good a result.
What does this question have to do with your bad faith? Anyway, my good faith answer is that I think they are trying to create more space and options than just sitting in your seat. That's what today's marketplace is looking for and that's what has helped the Yard Goats become such a success. So much criticism from UConn fans is comical. UConn FB fans have been whining for years that The Rent has too many options besides just your seat. Turns out the place was ahead of it's time.
 
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What does this question have to do with your bad faith? Anyway, my good faith answer is that I think they are trying to create more space and options than just sitting in your seat. That's what today's marketplace is looking for and that's what has helped the Yard Goats become such a success. So much criticism from UConn fans is comical. UConn FB fans have been whining for years that The Rent has too many options besides just your seat. Turns out the place was ahead of it's time.

LOL. The Rent has too many options besides your seat because what you see IN your seat is unwatchable.
 
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Put the bunkers in the Atrium along with some bars with food and restrooms.
 
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considering the other arenas in the State, does Hartford even need an arena?
 
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