XL shut down this season- Renovation in 2021 ?

[the Blades]

No UConn games at XL Center until fall of 2021; Sacred Heart, BYU emerge as possible nonconference opponents for men’s basketball with Big East scheduling still taking shape......

"The UConn men’s basketball team can begin practicing next Wednesday. They can play their first game as soon as Nov. 25, according to the NCAA. Not much more is certain regarding the schedule for the upcoming season, with the coronavirus still making it difficult to impossible to plan. For that reason, it is certain that there will be no UConn basketball games, men’s or women’s, nor ice hockey games at the XL Center this season......“Our teams love competing in downtown Hartford," UConn athletic director David Benedict said, "but the conditions brought about by COVID-19 have made that impractical. Our men’s hockey and basketball teams will compete in the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum and Gampel Pavilion respectively "

 

[the Blades]

"The widespread shutdown of theaters and sports arenas during the pandemic has opened up the opportunity for the XL Center to begin into a state-taxpayer funded renovation without working around sports, concerts or other events. "

“This will allow us to size the building to what is our sweet spot, which is that 11,000-, 12,000-seat size. We’re not going to build for 4,000 seats that we rarely use.”

What happens with the upper half of the arena?
" The upper half of the arena will remain much as it is with traditional general admission seating. But for the majority of events it would be closed off, a retractable wall replacing existing curtains The wall, where advertisements and sponsorships could be projected, could be removed if larger events....."

"The project is set to get underway in 2021, and a virtual public hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 5. "

Courant- New renderings give glimpse into bunker suites, concourse improvements planned for $100M XL Center arena renovation