XL CENTER, CRDA IN FULL CRISIS MODE PART 2 

By Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), which controls the XL Center, has plenty of issues on its plate, and there seem to be extra trips being made back for seconds and thirds.

Two weeks ago, Radenka Maric, who was named UCONN President in the fall, openly conjectured to a journalism class in an on-the-record conversation made it clear that UCONN was strongly considering leaving the XL Center and not renewing their contract at the end of the season.

UCONN will likely seek to shift home games back to their new on-campus arena, The Toscano Family Ice Forum at Storrs, as a cost-cutting measure to deal with the ballooning $53M athletics deficit and the Governor’s “proposal” to cut UCONN funding drastically.

Before the state appropriations meeting mid-week two weeks ago, the Governor bristled at the mere suggestion that he was proposing a cut. Instead, it’s the sunset of federal COVID funding, known by its acronym of ARPA. It ends after this school year. Lamont also emphatically stated that UCONN hoops games would be played at the XL Center.

The Governor and UCONN students were at the Capitol as part of this contentious government hearing on UCONN’s future budget, which has not yet been decided upon. However, UCONN will likely have a continued high level of funding, and increases will probably happen.

This conflict will pit CRDA’s Executive Director, Mike Freimuth, with Maric, a Yugoslavian ex-pat who spent the post-Yugoslav civil war years in the early 1990s in Japan. Also in the mix is outgoing Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

Maric threw an unappreciated and figurative Molotov cocktail into the room as the CRDA and OVG were in the final phases of negotiations to deal with the long-suffering XL Center with a makeover eight years overdue.

Freimuth has shown frustration and irritation at UCONN’s annual carping regarding their rental payments for hockey and basketball games and is no longer keeping quiet. Instead, he is calling UCONN out.

“It wasn’t very helpful. It was a monkey wrench we didn’t need, but I think it will be resolved successfully,” remarked Freimuth.

Maric’s remarks did not sound like an idle threat or posturing position by the Huskies. On the contrary, they have been telegraphing their intentions for nearly three years.

The on-campus venue selected by Maric gave her a very friendly audience. She knew she wouldn’t face hostile, probing, or counter-questions. UCONN will likely have another card up its sleeve.

It’s a confrontation that has been brewing for years. UCONN recoils at paying $40.5K per game for men’s and women’s basketball games and $20.5K for UCONN hockey as they have this season.

The new Toscano Family Ice Forum, where its recent Hockey East quarterfinal playoff game with Merrimack was played, not at the XL Center, is built, baptized, and open for business.

It was expected there would be only marquee hockey games like Boston College and Boston University, and national non-conference games would be at the XL Center in the future.

Now it seems even that it might be in jeopardy. The CT Ice Hockey Festival is scheduled for the XL Center next year, for now.

The CT Ice Festival might be the only college hockey downtown next year.

“We’II have a different model next year. We expect about 15 UCONN events next year. We usually have about 30 or so. Face it, a pre-season game with Appalachian State in November doesn’t do much for anybody. St. John’s or Georgetown, that’s a whole different story,” Freimuth commented.

On the other side of the room stands the CDRA and OVG being required to pay both mandatory expenses like police and other emergency services, as well as the fixed costs. It’s not cheap or optional.

“We have fixed costs at the XL Center that they don’t have at Gampel or the new hockey rink. All of those are factored into those buildings, but we’re left out here (holding the bag). Nobody is crying for me,” remarked Freimuth.

Then there’s OVG. They recently signed a new five-year contract with the two unions that work in the building. Both unions voted on and ratified that contract which features a nine-percent increase. So those costs are not gouging but living up to signed agreements.

A long-time state government source with knowledge of government and hockey threw a bucket of cold water on everything.

“I wouldn’t believe half of what you hear. They’ll work something out,” the source declared.

UCONN has had a choppy background with contracts. Bob Diacco, the former football coach they did well with, but basketball’s Kevin Ollie, not so much. So they are now paying for it dearly, which also factors in.

HISTORY

In 1990, Tate George’s miracle, buzzer-beating, turnaround baseline jumper from the corner against Clemson propelled UCONN to the Elite 8. At a time before the internet, UCONN changed its radio rights the following summer.

It was the end of their contract with the now-defunct CT Radio Network. UCONN had radio station affiliates from tiny WKZE in Sharon in the northwest corner of the state to powerhouse WICC downstate in Bridgeport and its southernmost town in Greenwich on WGCH-AM. UCONN was covered.

UCONN thought they could get a better deal with powerful WTIC-AM and its superb 50,000-watt nighttime clear channel signal heard throughout the Northeast in the US and Canada. The Huskies decided to form their own network instead. UCONN negotiated new individual deals with individually selected stations.

The deals were done with the WTIC sales department, which did the legwork. UCONN dropped CRN despite a UCONN alumnus at the company’s helm and expanded its coverage and, even more importantly, its revenue intake.

Part of the negotiating strategy was that they wanted UCONN radio voice Bob Huessler, the play-by-play person, to be out for UCONN broadcasts and their guy Joe D’Ambrosio in.

Huessler, unbeknownst to UCONN, was dealing with a major family crisis with his now late wife, battling breast cancer. There was no way he was getting dropped. In its final days, he was also the full-time PR Director for Milford Jai-Lai.

CRN was caught off guard, unaware that UCONN had another deal lined up. UCONN has always played poker with an extra card up its sleeve.

But nothing with UCONN seems to last forever. After 26 years with WTIC, UCONN decided in 2018 to partner with New York-based IMG Network to handle their radio rights. Unfortunately, WTIC thought UCONN/IMG was asking for too much, eventually sending D’Ambrosio packing and bringing in Mike Crispino.

UCONN signed for ten years with 97.9 ESPN radio, where they remain.

If UCONN does leave, the XL Center account ledger will be out of whack. Hence, the lost revenue and large expenses to pay, and shortly afterward, all the main actors will likely leave at the expiration of their contracts. Then, like the late New Haven Coliseum, the building will close with all the losses.

UCONN will negotiate directly with the XL Center – no more third parties.

A business like The Taven, across the street from the XL Center, was packed on Saturday afternoon and evening. It tailors its staff time and openings around the XL schedule. The same thing happens for Max’s across the street on the Eastern side of the XL. They are two staples and long-operating Hartford restaurants that would likely close with no events or customers.

Waitresses, bartenders, and chefs will all be unemployed. These are the unintended consequences of the situation with the XL Center. They’re not alone.

Despite all the happy talk from state Senate House Speaker Matt Ritter, who told the Hartford Courant in the days after this tete-a-tete broke open that things will be fine – even if XL Center folks think they’re bluffing. It feels different this time, as several folks inside the building said the same thing.

“I did talk to the athletic director yesterday, and I know UCONN reiterated its commitment to play at the XL Center, which we are going to renovate,” Ritter commented. “Is UCONN going to play in Hartford? You betcha’. Do we agree with the (school) president, though, that we got to help them in this budget? You betcha’.”

The relationship with Ritter is an interesting one. His father, Tom, a one-time Speaker of the House himself, is now a lobbyist, working for a prestigious Hartford law firm. In addition, he is a UCONN Board of Trustees member and is very close with school President Maric.

Will that relationship be leveraged positively in the negotiations that are about to come?

UCONN started this process very early for a reason. They’re looking for a soft landing if they decide to leave or if they can wrangle some more considerable concessions and not go. Don’t expect these negotiators to underestimate UCONN, however. UCONN always works in its interests.

“Its lot of work. You have to look at the December and January kids aren’t on campus. 80,000 UCONN alumni live within a half-hour of the XL Center. Some of those are legislators. You think they want to drive to Storrs in the middle of the winter on a Tuesday night?” said Freimuth.

UCONN has been vocal about the rental structure at the XL Center for three years and hired an outside entity last year– Stafford Sports- to negotiate on their behalf and waited to sign their one-year lease extension until the 11th hour to do so. So this year, they will deal directly with OVG.

“I think that Hartford has invested a lot in UCONN. They should be giving back and investing in Hartford. It’s probably not a good spot for the college to be in right now, threatening to divest from a city that’s invested a lot in them,” remarked House Minority Leader Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-86th District) to the Courant.

Reminder, the XL Center is in the district of both Ritter and Candelora.

More than two years ago, the building received $65 million, more than they requested, just a week before the pandemic shutdown. However, it still has not made its way to the bond commission in any manner. Governor Lamont, who controls the bond commission agenda, has been steadfast in the fact that UCONN will play at the XL Center and that funding will be there.

The current negotiations between the latest building operator, OVG, and the CRDA are nearing their conclusion. The skunk-in-the-room move will change OVG’s short-term and long-term calculus at the XL Center and the if, when, and how of their getting a return on its investment.

“I have an idea of what their investment number is, but I’m not at liberty to discuss it right now,” said Freimuth.

The other negotiation for the CRDA is with Northland Corporation and its CEO, Larry Gottesdeiner. Once hailed as the building’s savior, Gottesdeiner has been at a standstill with the CRDA over the atrium for more than three years and is not factored in this proposal.

It has been an Excedrin-inducing pace for three years and counting for Freimuth.

“Its not part of the discussion at the moment. We’re not focused on the atrium at all,” Freimuth said with resignation.

Job vacancies have repeatedly shown up every year. In the last few years, they’ve had four different Operations Managers and a revolving door of salespeople for the Wolf Pack, and the building has been noticeable.

If UCONN makes a move, MSG can’t be far behind.

They have a nice cushion, getting the affiliation fee paid for by the state this year to the tune of $1.66M after foolishly kicking MSG out as managing operator at the XL Center as the CDA did, the forerunner to the CRDA, 16 years ago.

While that helps raise the bar for the rest of the AHL, it keeps the Wolf Pack team solvent and all hockey operations expenses, salaried employees, admin costs, etc. They are all paid for, but the future, building-wise, is passing them by.

“We have brought that number back a bit, but it’s all based on the affiliation requirements. We’re in discussions now on a new contract as we speak,” said Freimuth.

Then, the issue of new buildings with modern amenities popping up throughout the AHL teams.

The recently concluded AHL All-Star Classic was held at the three-year-old, north of the border, new palatial arena, and just 25 minutes from downtown Montreal at the Place Bell in Laval. Then toss in new arenas that have opened this year; Henderson, NV, San Jose, CA, and the $500M palace in the California Desert in Palm Springs, CA (Coachella Valley). In addition, they illustrate and highlight the deficiencies of both the XL Center and the team’s practice facilities at Cromwell (now run by Black Bear Enterprises), both highly inadequate.

Sooner or later, MSG will make a move too.

The Canadian division is gone. Most of the New England teams in the AHL are gone. It’s wishful thinking to believe that Hartford can last that long as the AHL continues to move forward, given the state of the XL Center and all the issues surrounding it.

The consensus is that it feels different this time. Inside and outside the XL Center, that phrase has been repeated unprompted. It does feel different this time.

XL CENTER

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