In the middle of one of the worst financial crises in state history, Gov. Dannel Malloy is continuing his push for a complete overhaul of Hartford’s sports arena, the XL Center.
The governor said the state now has an arena that is in disrepair, with an ice making system that’s being replaced for the first time in decades, and taxpayers have a choice to either close the arena or to invest and make it special once again.
Part of Malloy’s pitch is that Hartford has to remain competitive, and an arena like the XL Center he said is part of that conversation.
“We need to have cities in Connecticut that are as attractive as cities in other places,” Malloy urged Thursday, standing along rows of seats.
There are myriad skeptics to the governor’s proposal inside the General Assembly. The Finance Committee authorized a fraction of the $250 million for the arena the governor wanted, and others are worried about the optics of spending so much money on the arena in the middle of a fiscal crisis.
“I don’t think we should be throwing any more money at the XL Center until we get our fiscal house in order with the State of Connecticut,” said Rep. Chris Davis, (R – Ellington), the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee and a member of the Bond Commission that would authorize the funds for a renovation. Davis typically votes “no” on nearly all bond packages.
Davis said he’s supported previous actions to improve the XL Center, like improvements to the air condition system and other functional upgrades, but said he has to draw a line somewhere.
Local
“When we’re cutting services for developmental disabilities, we’re cutting the safety net for Connecticut’s residents and then to be putting money into the XL Center with massive cuts happening to safety net programs, I think that sends the wrong message to people across the state,” he said.
The Whaler Guys, diehard fans of the NHL franchise that were moved to North Carolina from Hartford in 1997, said there are far more benefits to maintaining a top-flight arena in the Capital City.
“We have to make this a marketable arena, said Jerry Erwin, who hosts a public-access show with his colleague, Peter Hindle.
Hindle, wearing a vintage Whalers logo tie said he recognizes the difficult of approving such a project, especially during some of the worst budget times in decades.
“It’s never an easy sell but one million people have been here in the last two years, Hindle said. “That’s about one out of every three people in Connecticut roughly and without that you’ve got to imagine the ripple effect it would cause without people parking, eating, concessions, and that kind of thing.”
Malloy said the price is right for what he describes as a state-of-the-art arena. The state has already brought in the same consulting firm that designed and undertook the renovation of New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
The governor said he’s ready to take ownership of the future of the XL Center and said for taxpayers, considering the lack of investment going back decades, the new estimate for what would amount to a replacement, is a bargain.
“The reason the price tag is as high as it is, is because those investments weren’t made over a long period of time. The decision really is do we recreate this facility at a much smaller price than to build it elsewhere or do we close it.”
