The old barn (XL Center) hasn’t lost its fastball
Hartford Anecdotal evidence, while rhetorically useful, isn't always the most foolproof way to present an argument. But then, as Yogi liked to say, you can observe a lot by watching.
And so it was in the middle of some recent UConn basketball games that the realization hit: The XL Center bears a happier hum this season, perhaps the byproduct of what's easily observed during games: The new “Fanclub” behind one of the baskets (goals during hockey) is routinely full of folks making merry, a different look than the old days with basic seats and a concession stand through the doors on the concourse.
The “Fanclub” is a bar/lounge area, complete with food and drink options, the ability to watch the game live or on several television monitors and best of all, open to everyone with a ticket for no additional charge. Translation: It's there for the people. All the people. It was part of the building's recent facelift that would keep the XL Center viable until state officials and taxpayers decide whether to make more such repairs or watch the city's Grande Dame crumble.
“Previously, we had two concession stands there,” Mike Freimuth, the executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, the entity that runs the XL Center, said over the weekend. “They performed so poorly that we did not even open them except for full houses. Today, the fanclub performs at a multiple of four times the previous revenue from that area and shows us that we can earn more dollars in the building.
“It also shows that people are willing to purchase and actually talk it up and that there's a strategy to transform the building that'll work as opposed to paying twice as much to rebuild and deal with the long lead times, site search and 'dark building' years.”
Pause here to reflect: Four times the previous revenue. People having fun.
Is that allowed anymore?
Freimuth said the “Fanclub” idea originated with Gov. Malloy on a tour of the building before the round of improvements. After discussions of the mundane (power, HVAC, elevators) Malloy mentioned fan improvements, too.
“The Governor indicated that he had been to buildings with 'everyman bars' and suggested we knock down a wall somewhere and open up the seats to the concourse,” Freimuth said, “and that evolved into what you now see.”
The “Fanclub's” success — to some of us, anyway — becomes a talking point for the next round of potential renovations. What if similar fan-friendly improvements enhance the experience like this one? We could have a hit on our hands.
“The proposed transformation will develop the lower bowl into a series of clubs, terraces and loge seating arrangements,” Freimuth said, “and convert the upper bowl to general admission with its own concourse carrying more restrooms and concessions. The current skyboxes would be eliminated and converted to party rooms and if economics hold, a restaurant configuration.”
Once again: politicians and taxpayers will decide the building's future. Certainly, though, the evidence suggests the original $35 million investment was used wisely. The XL Center looks more like a downtown arena than it ever has.
And why, despite the protests of some grandstanders who have all but pulled a Khrushchev and started banging shoes, the building's future is paramount to the success of UConn sports. If you attended the Georgetown and Cincinnati basketball games, you know the old barn hasn't lost its fastball.
Some readers have asked why UConn can't play all of its home games on campus. The answer is two-pronged: 1. The revenue differences between selling 10,000 tickets at Gampel and 15,000 in Hartford are significant; and 2. There is political pressure, subtle and otherwise, for UConn to play games downtown and help keep the local businesses (mostly restaurants and bars) afloat.
XL Center advocates reached Monday weren't necessarily alarmed of the news that the current budget isn't going to yield new dollars for the potentially major XL project. (As long as not one dime goes to that ridiculous baseball stadium). Here's hoping the CRDA continues its good work, tending to all the details necessary so that when and if the money is allocated in the future, the XL Center becomes bigger, better and more fan friendly than ever. This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.