Geno Blasts XL Center; “Blow It Up”
- Thread starter KhalidShockedTheWorld
- Start date
‘Well how do we pay for it?’ That’s not my job. I don’t ask you how to coach my team. Don’t ask me how you’re going to pay for it. That’s your job. Figure out a way to get that done or, like you said, just blow it up.”
Linked his comment in the other thread too....You know what ? ....your right Geno stay in your lane and coach your team, it has a court and two hoops and 15,500 + seats that Gampel doesn't. And people that drive to Hartford from southern CT ain't driven to Storrs. I drive to Storrs..... but you lose half your season tix base if you "blow it up " ...you fricken' wind bag....SMH !
Linked his comment in the other thread too....You know what ? ....your right Geno stay in your lane and coach your team, it has a court and two hoops and 15,500 + seats that Gampel doesn't. And people that drive to Hartford from southern CT ain't driven to Storrs. I drive to Storrs..... but you lose half your season tix base if you "blow it up " ...you fricken' wind bag....SMH !
I really think the solution is give Bridgeport a few games, give Mohegan Sun a few games and as a bone let the XL Center keep a few games. Spread it around the state so the whole state has coverage. It’s not the Hartford Huskies, it’s the Connecticut Huskies.
In this case the pot should be stirred. It’s absolutely a legitimate discussion piece where in CT UConn basketball games should be played outside of Storrs.
LOL ! .....after 40 years in Hartford ....... a couch potato like you who hasn't bought season tix since the Pilgrims landed thinks he should have a say...give me a break ....keep sitting home and leave this discussion to the people that matter... SMH !
Blades I had season tickets for 20 years until a job change made it impractical. I would have season tickets if they had played home games in Bridgeport, for longer than you have
Excuses, excuses, We've had Uconn season tix with my family/father(RIP) since Dee Rowe...
Playing in Bridgeport....LOL !....the only reason they've played in Hartford all these years is for $$$..... it's held double what Gampel did when it opened in Storrs and still seats about 33% more now. That's why they can still sell 14,000-15,000 once in awhile during crummy years like they have recently and will more often if Hurley turns this around....You don't need to put games off campus in smaller arenas. But your lucky..... I was searching for the Uconn couch potato commercial on youtube...you know this is a long standing joke between us ....
Playing in Bridgeport....LOL !....the only reason they've played in Hartford all these years is for $$$..... it's held double what Gampel did when it opened in Storrs and still seats about 33% more now. That's why they can still sell 14,000-15,000 once in awhile during crummy years like they have recently and will more often if Hurley turns this around....You don't need to put games off campus in smaller arenas. But your lucky..... I was searching for the Uconn couch potato commercial on youtube...you know this is a long standing joke between us ....
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Mike Anthony takes a shot at the media's & Geno, etc. XL Center issue.
Mike is right about one thing right, ( PS the escalator issue is because Northland controls that lobby area, which the CDRA and them needed to make a deal on to correct it and it shouldn't have taken 5 years). But other than that I could care less about back stage, the media areas and the locker rooms. (if you want to fix them for Geno, Cavanaugh and DH do it)....The ice rink was just replaced with a brand new NHL caliber system for millions a few years ago...
My experience and most of the fans I sat with hasn't changed in 30-40 years since the place was rebuilt after the collapse...I go to the games..... watch the action and when it's packed out like vs. Arizona or Nova recently, the place is a madhouse compared to Gampel. And for those fans that need to get buzzed while they watch the game (I'll pass)...they get to leave their upper level seats and hang out in the new "FUN ( drunk) ZONE" , that was added at the cost of about 1,000 seats during the last $40 mil makeover a few years ago..... So if anything and they plan to reduce the seating capacity again like the CDRA is talking in their new $100 mil plan...be careful what you wish for, because if the new XL Center is the same size as Gampel...WHAT Good is it to UCONN ????
From Anthony:
" Which brings us to the fitting symbol of dysfunction at the heart of it all, that escalator, the one connecting the Church Street garage catwalk to the coliseum lobby. It's been inoperable for the better part of five years now. That is quite an accomplishment. When Kevin Ollie was announced as UConn’s coach in 2012 and declared his program would take the stairs because escalators are for cowards, the folks at the XL Center took him quite literally and set out on a seemingly concerted effort to ensure that its escalator become and remain a dilapidated eyesore — roped off, covered up — for years to come. And it was just that, a neglected collection of metal with railings and signs directing fans to a nearby elevator that was also, on occasion, out of order. "
"The XL still provides a functional in-game experience for basketball and hockey. The upper and lower bowls of seats are fine from sight line and overall atmosphere standpoints. The court/rink and surrounding areas are OK. Back stage, yuck. The locker rooms, run down. The concourse, cramped. "(big deal, I'm not there to hang out in the concourse)
Mike is right about one thing right, ( PS the escalator issue is because Northland controls that lobby area, which the CDRA and them needed to make a deal on to correct it and it shouldn't have taken 5 years). But other than that I could care less about back stage, the media areas and the locker rooms. (if you want to fix them for Geno, Cavanaugh and DH do it)....The ice rink was just replaced with a brand new NHL caliber system for millions a few years ago...
My experience and most of the fans I sat with hasn't changed in 30-40 years since the place was rebuilt after the collapse...I go to the games..... watch the action and when it's packed out like vs. Arizona or Nova recently, the place is a madhouse compared to Gampel. And for those fans that need to get buzzed while they watch the game (I'll pass)...they get to leave their upper level seats and hang out in the new "FUN ( drunk) ZONE" , that was added at the cost of about 1,000 seats during the last $40 mil makeover a few years ago..... So if anything and they plan to reduce the seating capacity again like the CDRA is talking in their new $100 mil plan...be careful what you wish for, because if the new XL Center is the same size as Gampel...WHAT Good is it to UCONN ????
From Anthony:
" Which brings us to the fitting symbol of dysfunction at the heart of it all, that escalator, the one connecting the Church Street garage catwalk to the coliseum lobby. It's been inoperable for the better part of five years now. That is quite an accomplishment. When Kevin Ollie was announced as UConn’s coach in 2012 and declared his program would take the stairs because escalators are for cowards, the folks at the XL Center took him quite literally and set out on a seemingly concerted effort to ensure that its escalator become and remain a dilapidated eyesore — roped off, covered up — for years to come. And it was just that, a neglected collection of metal with railings and signs directing fans to a nearby elevator that was also, on occasion, out of order. "
"The XL still provides a functional in-game experience for basketball and hockey. The upper and lower bowls of seats are fine from sight line and overall atmosphere standpoints. The court/rink and surrounding areas are OK. Back stage, yuck. The locker rooms, run down. The concourse, cramped. "(big deal, I'm not there to hang out in the concourse)
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I have a funny memory of that escalator which dates back to 1984-85, the season in which Villanova won the NC. Villanova played and beat UConn in Hartford that year and won by 12 or 13 points. Not quite a whipping, but a decisive win. After the game I was on the escalator with some Villanova players (coincidentally), including Dwayne “D Train” McClain and Harold Pressley. I was curious where they were going and stayed on the escalator until they got off. Apparently there was some private party going on and I saw them get off the escalator and disappear into what seemed like a room where a privately organized party for their team was being staged. Probably a dinner party kind of thing, but not sure. I wasn’t invited so I then rode the escalator down. At that time there was a Wendy’s in the Civic Center and I ate there. I was a UConn student at that time, but can’t remember who was with me. Probably other guys from my dorm as we regularly went to games and also went to multiole Red Sox baseball games at Fenway Park.
Probably headed over to the Sheraton ( back then)........Did they offer you an eightball ?
Yeah I think that’s where they were probably going. At that time I wasn’t familiar with all the nooks and crannies of the Hartford Civic Center and was on that escalator in the first place, before I noticed the Villanova players, to see where it went. And I do remember that it did connect somehow to the hotel.
Around 4 years ago I was at the XL Center for a game between the UConn women and Nebraska. I attended the game with some friends of mine in CT whose relative played on the Nebraska team. We got some kind of pregame meet and greet passes before the game and had the chance to meet some of the players. I don’t even remember where that was exactly but somewhere in the XL Center. I had floor seats right behind the basket for that game.
I don’t think the XL Center is decrepit but it does kind of have the feel of a dated arena. I recall seeing a Grateful Dead concert there in 1980 and it has not changed a whole lot since then. At that time bongs we’re allowed into rock concerts (they were everywhere) and I got high from secondhand marijuana bong and joint smoke. I was a high school kid at that time.
Around 4 years ago I was at the XL Center for a game between the UConn women and Nebraska. I attended the game with some friends of mine in CT whose relative played on the Nebraska team. We got some kind of pregame meet and greet passes before the game and had the chance to meet some of the players. I don’t even remember where that was exactly but somewhere in the XL Center. I had floor seats right behind the basket for that game.
I don’t think the XL Center is decrepit but it does kind of have the feel of a dated arena. I recall seeing a Grateful Dead concert there in 1980 and it has not changed a whole lot since then. At that time bongs we’re allowed into rock concerts (they were everywhere) and I got high from secondhand marijuana bong and joint smoke. I was a high school kid at that time.
Here they are...it's a joke that it took the NCAA tourney for the escalators to finally get fixed, especially what a bad look it was coming over from the Hilton (sportwriters, staff, etc) for years now. But alot of the XL Centers problems are because of the mexican standoff between Northland and the CDRA...
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