Arena rebrand part of Downtown Hartford's revitalization

Yahoo

2 days ago

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The XL Center is now becoming the PeoplesBank Arena.
The building is getting major renovations and attracting more concerts more games and events. It could all lead to some big changes for downtown Hartford, revitalizing the neighborhood.
XL Center to be renamed PeoplesBank Arena
'I'm just coming to visit Hartford for some nice video shoots for our TikTok and Instagram,' said Vlad Mosnytskyy, an influencer from New York City.
With a new arena name comes new bunker suites, a premium club, new lower-bowl seating, a kitchen, concourse upgrades, new locker rooms for the athletes and green rooms for the artists.'This is going to be the heart and center of what we are trying to do, with the revitalization of Hartford,' Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said. 'I think you will see it in terms of a lot more activity here, much more frequently.'
Add that onto the housing boom surrounding the Hartford Yard Goats at DUNKIN Park, there is new construction, new tourists, and new opportunities.
'If you rewind 10 years ago, what was there now, it's a whole different ball game,' Hartford Yard Goats President Tim Restall.
Sticking with a baseball metaphors, the Yard Goats welcome the changes at PeoplesBank Arena.'There are a couple of runs that just scored today and someone is taking the lead,' Restall said. 'It's good to see what's happening with the downtown and all the renovations going on at the arena.'
On Main, Albany, and High Street, and they're still building as part of the downtown expansion. Around the corner is the new police department, and they say they're going to continue to develop and continue to improve, making the downtown spread out and reach into the local neighborhoods.'
'Thirty five years of looking at this, I hope I'm here for the next 35 years,' Chuck Davis of Hartford said. 'I doubt it, but it looks beautiful, just like the stadium is beautiful, and you can see the work that they're doing on the Civic Center too hopefully I can get back to how it was.'
For a couple of gentlemen who grew up in Hartford in the 1960s, they say Hartford is moving in the right direction.
'I think it's looking up, I like what they're doing in front of the ballpark the apartments, I like a lot of these things and these changes are going on with our administration, it's nice,' Dwight Teal of Hartford said.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulumplam is picking up where his predecessor Luke Bronin left off by continuing to bridge from the city into the neighborhoods.
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