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

[TheDoggPound]

I dumped on Hartford because as a CT native I'm tired of seeing UCONN being used as a political football to bail out Hartford. I would like to see them play the bigger games in Hartford...

I don't know if it could be considered political football when it's a completely rational idea that has merit to it. If the team would be more successful in Hartford it's not a case of bailing them out it's a case of trying to compete with the Minnesota's, North Dakota's and Wisconsin's. If the goal is to be QU 2.0 then they'll go to Storrs.

but the CDRA needs to roll the dice and not use UCONN as the main tennent.

It's not a one sided affair CRDA-UConn. UConn has a lot of skin in the game as well. They desperately need additional revenue streams and a state-of-the-art facility to house their championship programs. Partnering up and supporting the retrofitted XL Center and signing a long-term lease we'll open that up for them while at the same time marking off a box in terms of competing in CR. If CRDA "rolls the dice" and tries to pitch the retrofit without an anchor and ultimately fails UConn is up creek without a paddle in terms of just about everything.

 

[FartMan69]

I can't wait for them to pump 250 million into a 40 year old building so we can have the same conversation 20 years down the road. Between that and the State already trying to convince us that UConn will be the main tenant is slowly turning me from a believer in the NHL to someone who sees that we aren't taking this seriously.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

A couple random thoughts:

I would not be opposed to a delay (as long as it only is a delay) in building the on-campus rink if (and only if) it gets delayed because we no longer need to honor the agreement with Hockey East as our men's ice hockey team (and all other varsity sports for that matter) will be moving to the B1G.

Beginning not long after he got the job as commissioner (~93-94) Bettman was determined to move the Whalers. That said, the NHL would put a team back in Hartford in a second if a) an acceptable arena is built (in a city like Hartford it would likely cost $500 million) and b) someone comes up with the franchise fee (another $500 million).

 

[FartMan69]

I don't think Bettman or the owners are anti-Hartford, they were in favor of them moving but like was mentioned if a NEW arena is built and an owner wants to pony up the expansion fee or by some miracle one of the money losers is finally allowed to relocate the NHL can certainly make a come back. With a salary cap, revenue sharing and increased exposure a team would work here. All that said the state is going to stumble over their own feet and we'll end up with Key Arena East.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

No Title IX issue with women playing in Storrs, men in Hartford.

4K on campus arena would be ridiculously undersized. Would have to be 6-7K range.

Playing 100% of games in Hartford would ultimately be a hindrance for the program. They all know that. I don't see Cav leaving immediately for anywhere but BC (and even that looks to be a <50% chance) but down the line if there are no on campus facilities - at least a practice facility for peet's sake - that's going to put UConn at a recruiting disadvantage. Whether some of you want to admit that or not, it's the case. Not to mention, it'd piss off Hockey East (this rumor does not at all indicate they're OK with it.) If UConn wants to bank on being in the B1G, that's great, I hope it happens, but don't count your chickens. Hockey East is the best league any respective UConn sport is in, probably not a great idea to piss them off as the newest, and most easily disposable, member.

Long term plan should be invest money in a top notch on campus practice and training facility, include the arena, 6-7K so you're on par with top HE and most B1G schools, plan to play some of the big games each year in Hartford if it's necessary to satisfy the politicians. Getting 11-12K+ a night in Hartford for hockey is not going to happen. No one in the country does it outside of North Dakota. Playing in Hartford consistently, you're probably looking at the 5-6K average overall, including up years and down years. That in a cavernous 15K arena.....eh. That in a full on campus arena with a few big games that can pull in the 8-10K in Hartford....great idea.

 

[freescooter]

Brass bonanza is exactly right on this. In every way. Hockey East is the best league in the country from both level of play to location. The other issue with Hartford is that UConn is at the mercy of 3 other programs. Just look at last years schedule when everyone is playing Fri-Saturday home-home series were stuck playing Tuesday and Sunday afternoon games. Or moving attractive opponents to Bridgeport (or Brooklyn). On campus arena is a must long term...midterm actually. 6000+- build long term fans among the students.

 

[huskymedic]

Cavanaugh has had nothing but good things to say about Hartford and was the driving force in pulling more games there this year.

As opposed to where - Bridgeport? Freitas? Taft School? Was there really any other option than "pulling more" to Hartford?

My bet is a state of the art showcase training facility/rink will be built on campus and games will be split between Htfd and Storrs based on opponent and demand.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

As opposed to where - Bridgeport? Freitas? Taft School? Was there really any other option than "pulling more" to Hartford?

My bet is a state of the art showcase training facility/rink will be built on campus and games will be split between Htfd and Storrs based on opponent and demand.

Hah, exactly. Believe me, Cav would much rather be playing in Storrs than Hartford. He says good things about Hartford because he has to. You think he's going to shoot his own recruiting efforts in the foot publicly by bashing the arena he's playing in?

 

[TheDoggPound]

Some quick bullet points :

- NHL ownership in Hartford won't need $500M; that's the going rate for an expansion team. We're a relocation market. (WPG paid $170M for the Thrashers)

- $250M will be enough - XLC will be completely gutted & unrecognizable. The only thing that will be 40 years old is the steel super-strutcutre and original concrete foundation; both appear to be intact and in great shape. It seems a little silly to spend tens of Millions of extra dollars frivolously just to replace something that doesn't need replacing and for something that you can't even see in the first place.

- Hartford over time could avg. 8,000 (IMO) putting us in the upper echelon of NCAA attendance. 6,008 for HE games last year and the ST base will only rise over the next 2-3 years. A 4,000 seat arena in Storrs would put us on par with QU which is fine; if that's what AD's ultimate goal is.

- They could always build a training facility on campus and in Hartford.

- We have to keep in mind that when the XLC's retrofit is complete they might have a better system (an actual real one - not lousy curtains) in place for sectioning off the upper bowls. It could look and work much better.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

There's no good way to section off an arena. Curtains muffle noise and they look minor league. UConn would be pushing it to average 8K a night playing on random nights in Hartford against the likes of Merrimack, Vermont, RPI, and Northeastern. Will they probably bring in 8K for the likes of BU and BC? Sure, but so does UMass. The question for the program remains how will the fan support be when the new car smell wears off. Those bottom of the league games will be the litmus test for what the realistic fan support of the program is and will be.

 

[TheDoggPound]

There's no good way to section off an arena. Curtains muffle noise and they look minor league. UConn would be pushing it to average 8K a night playing on random nights in Hartford against the likes of Merrimack, Vermont, RPI, and Northeastern. Will they probably bring in 8K for the likes of BU and BC? Sure, but so does UMass. The question for the program remains how will the fan support be when the new car smell wears off. Those bottom of the league games will be the litmus test for what the realistic fan support of the program is and will be.

The Moda Center and Portland Winterhawks do a good job sectioning off their arena.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/05/...am-on-par-with-winterhawks-system-in-portland

Good article on curtain systems^

Also IMO attendance will only rise the upcoming seasons. Once the "new car smell" wears off that's when the team will actually start challenging for the league title and Frozen Four births.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

The Moda Center and Portland Winterhawks do a good job sectioning off their arena.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/05/...am-on-par-with-winterhawks-system-in-portland

Good article on curtain systems^

Also IMO attendance will only rise the upcoming seasons. Once the "new car smell" wears off that's when the team will actually start challenging for the league title and Frozen Four births.

That's better than what's in Hartford, but far from ideal, and far from having an arena that is the right size to begin with. The new car smell will be gone in about 1-2 years. You think UConn's going to be regularly challenging for Frozen Fours in two years? That is an entirely unrealistic expectation, even if we extend the period out to five or six years. This was a great first season in Hockey East, but there's a ways to go for the program to be at the top of the league, and there's an enormous logjam at the top over the coming seasons among BU, BC, Lowell, and a resurgent UNH. Not to mention the team that won the national championship.

Not to mention, these delusions of grandeur that have floated around this board at times throughout the season of filling up XL on a regular basis are based in absolutely no precedent. No one, not even the top attendance drawers in the country pull in that much on a regular basis. Expecting anything over the lower bowl (I believe is somewhere ~6K) of XL to be filled with regularity across the whole of the season, year in and year out, is not realistic, especially if games continue getting placed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Friday afternoons.

 

[TheDoggPound]

That's better than what's in Hartford, but far from ideal, and far from having an arena that is the right size to begin with. The new car smell will be gone in about 1-2 years. You think UConn's going to be regularly challenging for Frozen Fours in two years?

Yes, I believe year 4 will be the year we start our ascent to the top and we'll be challenging for the league title.

Not to mention, these delusions of grandeur that have floated around this board at times throughout the season of filling up XL on a regular basis are based in absolutely no precedent. No one, not even the top attendance drawers in the country pull in that much on a regular basis. Expecting anything over the lower bowl (I believe is somewhere ~6K) of XL to be filled with regularity across the whole of the season, year in and year out, is not realistic, especially if games continue getting placed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Friday afternoons.

The ST base is only going to keep growing. It'll jump up from last year meaning it's safe to predict we'll see a rise in attendance for the 15-16 season. Will it likely stagnate at some point over the next couple of off-seasons, yes sure but it's safe to say last year's 5,814 avg. is just the tip of the iceberg for UConn Hockey in Hartford.

 

[dbmill]

Brass bonanza is exactly right on this. In every way. Hockey East is the best league in the country from both level of play to location. The other issue with Hartford is that UConn is at the mercy of 3 other programs. Just look at last years schedule when everyone is playing Fri-Saturday home-home series were stuck playing Tuesday and Sunday afternoon games. Or moving attractive opponents to Bridgeport (or Brooklyn). On campus arena is a must long term...midterm actually. 6000+- build long term fans among the students.

As opposed to where - Bridgeport? Freitas? Taft School? Was there really any other option than "pulling more" to Hartford?

My bet is a state of the art showcase training facility/rink will be built on campus and games will be split between Htfd and Storrs based on opponent and demand.

Both these posts hit it right on the button. No offense to the minor league team, but I'm sure UConn is not exactly looking forward to playing more hockey doubleheaders with the Wolf Pack.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Both these posts hit it right on the button. No offense to the minor league team, but I'm sure UConn is not exactly looking forward to playing more hockey doubleheaders with the Wolf Pack.

There were plenty of dates open that UConn could of used - not sure if the issue was on UConn's end or Global's end but I brought this up way back. At the time I counted, iirc something like 7-8 prime dates (Fri/Sat) that were open yet UConn was playing on Monday's and Tuesday's. I think it's just a matter of coordinating and scheduling better.

Also the WP are on their way out after next season, I wouldn't be surprised if the CRDA tells Global to give UConn preferential treatment. That would be a good way to scratch UConn's back too while they're wrangling over the lease.

 

[huskymike]

World is ending posts incoming!

I for one am perfectly fine with this if it does happen. If they went to Storrs support for the program would only diminish imo. I understand the angle of the students should get to watch them on campus but let's not act like the student section at last year games was anything else than underwhelming; it was borderline embarassing. Granted it would be better if they played on-campus but I think Greater Hartford's appetite for hockey far out paces the UConn students appetite.

And it's totally possible that the soccer team could end up outdrawing the hockey team at certain times (chance they're more popular too). I wouldn't want to see that. Plus selfishly if they move to Storrs I won't make any of the games and I suspect that would be the case with quite a good % of current ST holders. I would wager that UConn is none to thrilled by the idea of replacing full-paying ST holders with Student ST holders.

I heard it from a friend with insight to planning/infrastructure for campus. I Didn't mean to cause a storm. For selfish reasons I would love an on campus arena. I think we could do like basketball. Most games on campus with big games at XL. I still think it would be awesome to host BC/BU on campus. The one XL game I didn't go to was due to a snowstorm. If the arena was on campus I would have braved the trip.

 

[MASSconn]

Not one Big 10 or Hockey East team plays off-campus at a neutral venue.

If they don't build an on-campus arena they are crazy!! All they need to do is put it at an area accessibility to 44 and 195. (depot campus- that's where our football should be too IMO)

This is so disheartening. Lightning does strike twice

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Not one Big 10 or Hockey East team plays off-campus at a neutral venue.

If they don't build an on-campus arena they are crazy!! All they need to do is put it at an area accessibility to 44 and 195. (depot campus- that's where our football should be too IMO)

This is so disheartening. Lightning does strike twice

Or really any team in the country. The only one who played any modicum of distance from campus was Nebraska-Omaha, but they're moving into an on-campus arena this fall.

 

[bleedgreen]

Hartford is not off-campus. Planning for attendance to decrease is planning for failure and ridiculous. Storrs was never meant to be home to the amount of activity these athletics programs generate, and the writing is clearly on the wall to begin expanding UConn's presence, all on fronts, in Hartford. It makes sense and it is the best option for everyone except for a minority who enjoys Storrs being it's own little petty fiefdom.

I get that for some people Storrs is a comfortable location, but for most of the state it's a long backroad drive at night through the middle of nowhere. It's silly to cram two, nevermind three, programs which are attracting support and interest comparable to a professional team into that little town.

 

[huskymike]

Hartford is not off-campus. Planning for attendance to decrease is planning for failure and ridiculous. Storrs was never meant to be home to the amount of activity these athletics programs generate, and the writing is clearly on the wall to begin expanding UConn's presence, all on fronts, in Hartford. It makes sense and it is the best option for everyone except for a minority who enjoys Storrs being it's own little petty fiefdom.

I get that for some people Storrs is a comfortable location, but for most of the state it's a long backroad drive at night through the middle of nowhere. It's silly to cram two, nevermind three, programs which are attracting support and interest comparable to a professional team into that little town.

You make some valid points, however I would consider Hartford being 25 miles west of Storrs to be off campus.

 

[auggie22]

You lose sight of the fact that we are talking about college athletics, not professional franchises. They exist in their current form to attract prospective students and faculty, not make more convenient the commute of middle-aged men.

It can be done well in Storrs even if the school gives up a little revenue to do it. The students are in storrs. The rest of us can take the lonely drive to the games if we wish to attend.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Hartford is not off-campus. Planning for attendance to decrease is planning for failure and ridiculous. Storrs was never meant to be home to the amount of activity these athletics programs generate, and the writing is clearly on the wall to begin expanding UConn's presence, all on fronts, in Hartford. It makes sense and it is the best option for everyone except for a minority who enjoys Storrs being it's own little petty fiefdom.

I get that for some people Storrs is a comfortable location, but for most of the state it's a long backroad drive at night through the middle of nowhere. It's silly to cram two, nevermind three, programs which are attracting support and interest comparable to a professional team into that little town.

Odd, never heard the same about Penn State athletics which face the same if not more challenges than Storrs does (100k football venue, 15k basketball arena, etc) and the same for towns like Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, Bloomington, Iowa City, Tuscaloosa, College Station, etc. Those towns have all grown with their universities, not chased them away.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Hartford is not off-campus. Planning for attendance to decrease is planning for failure and ridiculous. Storrs was never meant to be home to the amount of activity these athletics programs generate, and the writing is clearly on the wall to begin expanding UConn's presence, all on fronts, in Hartford. It makes sense and it is the best option for everyone except for a minority who enjoys Storrs being it's own little petty fiefdom.

On a limited basis, some significant changes are occurring involving UCONN and downtown Hartford. Yes, the MBA /graduate business program will shift more courses to Stamford and to Hartford; the Hartford-area branch will return downtown after 1/2 century in West Hartford; about 2,300 students (part time, and full time) will study downtown; and the UCONN dental and medical schools and Medical Center will continue on the growing suburban campus in Farmington. None of this changes the clear fact Storrs has been, is, and will be UCONN (or, vice versa!) nor the obvious fact the massive UCONN 2000, 21st Century UCONN, and more recent $1.5 billion Next Generation investments focused most in and on Storrs.

On the other hand, it is a big reach to suggest UCONN's presence will expand on all fronts in Hartford. It's not supported by facts, but perhaps it's a convenient opinion to support an incorrect perspective. However, it is reasonable to acknowledge Huskies' hoops will continue playing some games in Hartford; hockey will play some games at least until the new arena absolutely is built on the continually expanding Storrs' campus (as it will); the increasing Storrs' student population will continue to grow; and football will continue playing home games across the Connecticut River in East Hartford.

Getting to/from Storrs may not be overly convenient, especially for the under informed or non-creative driver, but that consideration nor the fact some UCONN sports will play some games in Hartford or East Hartford does not support the ill-informed view suggesting all things UCONN are moving or will move to downtown Hartford. Forever ideally is a long time, but that wrong footed view about UCONN moving all sports or all everything simply is not happening in most of our lifetimes!

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Just...no.

 

[SAMCRO]

Hartford is not off-campus..

stopped reading here.