Latest news with #KennethR.Gosselin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
After nearly two decades, a new name for CT sports and entertainment arena will be unveiled today
Downtown Hartford's aging sports and entertainment venue — now the focus of a $145 million renovation — also will be getting a new name, as expected. An announcement on a naming rights agreement for what is now known as the XL Center is scheduled for today at 2 p.m., according to a statement from the office of Gov. Ned Lamont., who will be attending the event. The arena opened in 1975 as was known for decades as the Hartford Civic Center. The building was renamed in 2007 after the insurer XL Group which purchased the naming rights contract. The XL Group's naming rights contract expired nearly a year ago. XL, purchased by insurance giant AXA in 2018, decided to shift gears in its marketing, moving away from venue naming rights, officials with Denver-based Oak View Group have said. OVG, which runs the day-to-day operations of the venue, has said negotiations over a naming rights contract can be complex. The deal might include premium seating — bunker suites or loge seating, for example — in addition to the name on the exterior of the building. The XL Group naming rights contract ranged from $450,000 to $500,000 a year. The value dipped during COVID and when University of Connecticut's basketball program left the Big East. The basketball program has since returned to the conference. OVG is contributing $20 million to the renovations and hopes the improvements will help it to triple the number of concerts booked annually, perhaps as many as 30. Concerts are major money-makers for modern arenas. The project is downsized from $250 million in 2018 after there was no appetite for that price tag. The scope now focuses on premium, higher-priced seating in the lower half of the venue; a relocated, fully outfitted concert stage and crucial IT upgrades. Concessions also will be revamped. Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State development fund could bring $10M boost for CT mall redevelopment. Here's where.
Plans for a redevelopment of the languishing Enfield Square mall could get a crucial $10 million boost from a state economic development fund that could help lay the groundwork for razing the old mall and replacing it with apartments, hotels and new retail space. The grant for the mall development is one of 35 totaling $77 million that will be considered Tuesday by the board of the state's Community Investment Fund. The fund, which seeks to foster economic development in traditionally underserved communities, approves grants on a competitive basis. The CIF board also is expected to vote on $250,000 for the city of Hartford to begin planning for a major, $200 million redevelopment of the decaying One Talcott Plaza complex between Capital Community College — the former G. Fox & Co. department store building — and the burgeoning North Crossing redevelopment around Dunkin' Park, the city's minor league ballpark. The city had sought a CIF grant of $22.3 million to demolish the One Talcott complex to make way for the redevelopment. The project would be anchored by a regional bus transit center, apartments, a park, underground parking and storefront space built on a parking lot to the west of the vacant One Talcott complex. The redevelopment would form a public-private partnership between the state — half of the project would involve the bus hub — and the property owners. The site is owned is owned by Hartford-based LAZ Investments, an arm of parking giant LAZ Parking, and Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC, of Brooklyn, N.Y., downtown Hartford's largest commercial landlord. The city of Hartford did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. In Enfield, the $10 million would be used for preparing the site — the grant primarily for drainage systems dealing with storm water — for a new $250 million redevelopment that would unfold in stages. A developer, Nebraska-based Woodsonia Real Estate Inc., has an agreement to purchase the mall property from its current owner, Namdar Realty Corp. 'It's a huge shot in the arm for the center of commercial district here in Enfield,' Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, said Monday. 'I have high hopes. Not only is it commercial and retail but there's residential — mixed-use. It really seems to be the way of the future.' Initially, $20 million was sought for the Enfield project, but those efforts were unsuccessful. If funds are approved by the CIF board, they still must be backed by the State Bond Commission. Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@
