[SteveM85]

You guys are great embassadors for Hartford pro sports, amazing posts.
What it all boils down to is that Big 4 owners won’t approve any teams in Hartford and there isn’t anything anyone can do about it.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

You guys are great embassadors for Hartford pro sports, amazing posts.
What it all boils down to is that Big 4 owners won’t approve any teams in Hartford and there isn’t anything anyone can do about it.

Ambassadors

[ryanthegoldengod]

Originally Posted by Johnho771

Hartford also hosted the 1981 World Figure Skating Championships, which introduced the world to Scott Hamilton. It was a world stage city. It unfortunately has not hosted since.

The lack of development in Hartford is truly perplexing. I drive by and do not even see a crane in the skyline. I'd expect more from the capital city of one of the richest states in the U.S. Coupled with high state income taxes and very high Hartford mill rates, the people should demand a better city.

And it is very surprising that the city or surrounding area does not have a Big 4 professional sports team. As it has been mentioned before, the Hartford/New Haven media market is the largest in the US without a team. Many smaller markets at least have one. Added the fact as it has been mentioned multiple times, CT has one of the highest if not highest incomes per capita and disposal incomes, the people of CT are able to spend. Don't forget ESPN, the world wide leader in sports is right in the area, and NBC Sports are nearby in Stamford. This all makes the opportunity of having a team in the area incredibly lucrative.

The most obvious answer is to bring the Whalers back. Taking the team from Phoenix probably make the most sense at this point. The demand for the Whalers still really seems to be there. I still see people wearing a ton of Whalers apparel. I cannot think of a defunct team that still boast as much apparel as the Whalers. You hardly ever see Boston Braves or Boston Redskins shirts or hats being worn.

And proximity to NYC and Boston should not be a disadvantage or an excuse. Its poor way of thinking that greatly hinders the areas prosperity and future. If anything the proximity should be an advantage as areas to draw from..

I want so much to believe the Coyotes would move here. If Winnipeg can get a team back, why can't we? We are a a larger metro area than them. Of course....I'll answer my own question. The arena. Sometimes you have to build the arena first, not say oh we promise to build an area if you give us a team back. CT has repeatedly refused to do that. It's probably less our market that's holding us back than our arena. And I doubt Gary Bettman would be very impressed at all with all of the band aid proposals for the XL Center.

Sometimes you just have to spend money to make money. Everyone hated spending money on Dunkin' Donuts---er, Dunkin' Park. No one will go to Hartford! It's going to be a disaster! But we now have quite possibly the nicest minor league park in the county, large crowds every night, and something to actually feel some civic pride about. It would have never happened if we listened to the naysayers and penny pinchers. They would still be the Rock Cats and playing in New Britain. I went to games there and I'm sorry but the Yard Goats experience is completely on another level. Not even remotely close.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

IF the Coyotes are really averaging less than 5,000 people a game there is no doubt the Hartford area could easily get more people into a building. The Whalers had sold something like 11,500 season tickets before the deadline set by Karmanos and the city asked for a few more weeks to try to get the last few hundred needed to keep the team. That deadline was not extended even by a month and that ended that idea.

16k plus is the average for all but 4 teams. 3 are in the upper 14, lower 15 range.

Anyone can increase the Coyotes attendance, but the expectation now is very close to sellouts the majority of the schedule for 90% of NHL teams, which is why utilization of available seats have soared since we lost the one team we had.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Johnho771

Hartford also hosted the 1981 World Figure Skating Championships, which introduced the world to Scott Hamilton. It was a world stage city. It unfortunately has not hosted since.

The lack of development in Hartford is truly perplexing. I drive by and do not even see a crane in the skyline. I'd expect more from the capital city of one of the richest states in the U.S. Coupled with high state income taxes and very high Hartford mill rates, the people should demand a better city.

And it is very surprising that the city or surrounding area does not have a Big 4 professional sports team. As it has been mentioned before, the Hartford/New Haven media market is the largest in the US without a team. Many smaller markets at least have one. Added the fact as it has been mentioned multiple times, CT has one of the highest if not highest incomes per capita and disposal incomes, the people of CT are able to spend. Don't forget ESPN, the world wide leader in sports is right in the area, and NBC Sports are nearby in Stamford. This all makes the opportunity of having a team in the area incredibly lucrative.

The most obvious answer is to bring the Whalers back. Taking the team from Phoenix probably make the most sense at this point. The demand for the Whalers still really seems to be there. I still see people wearing a ton of Whalers apparel. I cannot think of a defunct team that still boast as much apparel as the Whalers. You hardly ever see Boston Braves or Boston Redskins shirts or hats being worn.

And proximity to NYC and Boston should not be a disadvantage or an excuse. Its poor way of thinking that greatly hinders the areas prosperity and future. If anything the proximity should be an advantage as areas to draw from..

“Lack of development”??? Have you not been following the posts in this thread? There are literally hundreds of apartments being constructed in Hartford and hundreds more planned. Maybe instead of driving by on the highway and judging it, get off the highway and see what’s actually happening. Jay.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by Lincolnian

I personally believe that live/work/play developments can be successful. However, for that to occur the city needs more drivers. Whether you are a sports fan or not, one cannot deny that a professional-level team brings in the crowds. The Yard Goats has given a glimpse of how that works.

So what's the plan for when there isn't a sporting event scheduled? Whenever I read about how people are betting big on professional sports to bring in the crowds, there seems to be zero mention of what sort of regularly scheduled events can occur on an off-day, when there are road games, or when the season is out. Fenway Park is a national draw, and yes, it absolutely enhances the neighborhood, but that area functions quite well the other 280 days a year when there isn't a game there. Within a 5-minute walk from any seat inside Fenway, you not only have restaurants and bars, but apartments and townhouses, churches and synagogues, libraries and theaters, schools and colleges. There's a daily life that exists independent of the ballpark, and that's why venues and neighborhoods like this are so successful. Fenway may seem like an anomaly because it were built as neighborhoods were being created and established, but still, cities are capable of more than just being entertainment zones for people who get in their cars, drive into urban areas for a few hours, then return home to suburbia. So is Hartford. The notion that cities provide entertainment isn't the issue, it's the idea that this is all they're capable of doing is where the problem lies, IMO.

[BobNJ1960]

Only a crazy city builds a new arena without a team committed already to coming. While the Titans were guaranteed a new stadium in Nashville, it was not going to be built w/o their commitment to come.

Ct should not be building any sports facility w/o that same commitment.

Period.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

Only a crazy city builds a new arena without a team committed already to coming. While the Titans were guaranteed a new stadium in Nashville, it was not going to be built w/o their commitment to come.

Ct should not be building any sports facility w/o that same commitment.

Period.

Right, and you know as well as I do that commitment will never come from a Big Four organization. Only the owners of those leagues teams decide about Hartford. NY and Boston owners have put Hartford off limits. It’s a no go zone. No one else has any say. Deep down everyone knows this.
Big Soccer and Big Women sports are ok, they’re more than welcome in addition to farm teams.
Between the Goats and the appropriate and manageable 107 upgrade to the Civic Center, Hartford can and will continue to be a destination attraction for farm hockey, Husky women, great concerts, ice capades, battle royales, and much more for decades to come. It’s a win win for the city.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

Right, and you know as well as I do that commitment will never come from a Big Four organization. Only the owners of those leagues teams decide about Hartford. NY and Boston owners have put Hartford off limits. It’s a no go zone. No one else has any say. Deep down everyone knows this.
Big Soccer and Big Women sports are ok, they’re more than welcome in addition to farm teams.
Between the Goats and the appropriate and manageable 107 upgrade to the Civic Center, Hartford can and will continue to be a destination attraction for farm hockey, Husky women, great concerts, ice capades, battle royales, and much more for decades to come. It’s a win win for the city.

Bingo, and that is the appropriate usage for a city of modest size.

The formula is working well.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

Bingo, and that is the appropriate usage for a city of modest size.

The formula is working well.

Aspire to achieve and attain mediocrity and you will do just that. This attitude is leading to the slow demise of the downtown area as Lincolnian also pointed out. I know I mentioned more than once that it is possible to build a larger and more modern arena and not have a pro team. Examples:

Comaha, (the city that always sleeps). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHI_Health_Center_Omaha

Louisville. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC_Yum!_Center

And your recent comment that the days are over when Hartford can host NCAA Tournament basketball is also not accurate when a city like Albany which has a much smaller ADI and metro market just hosted games with an arena around the same size as the XL Center.

https://www.albany.org/listing/mvp-arena/1218/

What the naysayers fail to grasp about this is that a healthy local economy is a lot like an ecosystem. Remove one or two components from the ecosystem and the rest of it starts to slowly fade. Clearly having a basic understanding of economics it is obvious either doing a full upgrade with several thousand more seats to the XL Center is in the best interest of the region. Otherwise tearing it down and building a larger arena with the hope that a pro team can return or smaller arena that is the right size for minor league games would be best. The taxpayers are getting the short end of the stick when they have to keep propping up an antiquated facility that is sub par by today's standards.

Buildings and developments are built on spec a lot and they succeed. And this includes housing developments, office buildings, shopping centers and so on.