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August 2, 2024

Bond Commission to take up $118M funding request for XL Center renovation and more

HBJ PHOTO | GREG BORDONARO The XL Center in downtown Hartford.
By Michael Puffer

One of the last dominos needed to kick off a $145 million renovation of downtown Hartford’s XL Center is expected to fall Aug. 8, as the state Bond Commission takes up a request to borrow $118 million to fund the project.

This will be used with $7 million previously approved by the bond commission and $20 million being contributed by Los Angeles-based venue operator Oak View Group on a large program of repairs and renovations at the roughly 50-year-old, 16,000-seat arena in downtown Hartford.

The commission will be asked to sign off on more than $1 billion in bonds on Aug. 8, including funding for transportation projects, environmental cleanups, housing development and various other initiatives. That includes $535.8 million in borrowing and $575 million funded through revenue and other sources.

Planned XL renovations include a new roof; upgrades to plumbing, electrical and other basic systems; moving the stage, new rigging, premium seating and more.

The Capital Region Development Authority, which manages the arena, has negotiated an agreement that would have OVG pay $20 million toward the renovation. In return, OVG gets a 20-year contract to manage the facility and will keep the first $4 million in annual profits.

OVG also assumes the responsibility of covering any annual operating loss, which has averaged about $2 million yearly.

“Key to this deal is that a private company is coming in, putting in some resources and taking on the responsibility of managing the XL Center,” House Speaker Matt Ritter said. “They will be able to make a profit, but if there’s a loss, it’s their loss.”

Ritter stressed that UConn’s national champion basketball teams deserve a home facility on par with those they see when traveling.

The Bond Commission agenda also includes $4 million for an environmental cleanup of the 6.6-acre former Bristol Babcock site in Waterbury’s South End. The city claimed the property late last year after prominent attorney, investor and developer Norman Drubner offered to contribute $1 million for the city to take it off his hands.

City officials say that money has been banked for environmental cleanup at the site.

The Bristol Street site once hosted a roughly 310,000-square-foot industrial complex, which closed decades ago after Bristol Babcock moved out. Today, some of the complex has been demolished into a pile of rubble to keep it from falling into the roadway.

It is uncertain how much it will cost to clean up the site. Waterbury officials are in the process of hiring an environmental consultant.

Some of the remaining requests on the Aug. 8 Bond Commission agenda include:

  • $35 million – To fund state-issued brownfield cleanup grants and loans.
  • $15 million – For the state Manufacturing Innovation Fund.
  • $14.1 million – To reimburse Wesleyan University for costs of environmental remediation of the former Long Lane School in Middletown.
  • $2 million – For the State Office of Policy and Management to devote to transit-oriented developments.
  • $1.6 million for miscellaneous repairs at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
  • $1 million – Seed money to launch the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority.
  • $1 million – for upgrades to the Connecticut Building at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield
     

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