Fate of planned $107.2M XL Center upgrade could be determined this fall
Michael Puffer | Hartford Business Journal
CRDA Executive Director Mike Freimuth providing a tour of the XL Center.
Capital Region Development Authority Executive Director Michael Freimuth expects to know late this fall whether his agency will be able to pay for large-scale upgrades planned for the XL Center in Hartford.
Freimuth said he expects to release bids for the planned renovations to the downtown Hartford arena this summer, with returns expected in time to determine in “late fall” if costs fall in line with the projected $107.2 million budget.
“If the budget comes in too high, none of this going forward,” Freimuth told members of the CRDA venue committee during a meeting Tuesday. “If the budget comes in line, we can secure the OVG arrangement.”
The OVG agreement is a plan to grant Los Angeles-based entertainment company Oak View Group a long-term management agreement in return for a hefty upfront contribution for renovations. Freimuth declined this week to say how much OVG is anticipated to contribute.
OVG has managed the XL on behalf of the CRDA since late 2021, when it acquired a venue management and hospitality company Spectra, which was contracted to manage the XL center.
The CRDA has tried for years to secure funding for a large-scale repair and upgrade of the downtown Hartford sports and entertainment arena. Lawmakers balked at a comprehensive $250 million plan in 2018 but had approved $40 million for repairs and upgrades in 2017 and signed off on another $65 million in 2019.
Portions of that money have been slowly fed out through the state Bond Commission for work at the XL Center, including an ongoing $15 million package of repairs and upgrades including construction of a sports-betting lounge on the edge of the building overlooking Ann Uccello Street. Providence-based Dimeo Construction is also making commercial kitchen improvements, adding restrooms and upgrading other building systems.
The highly anticipated sports betting lounge was originally scheduled to open last fall, but that timeline was hit hard by supply chain delays. Freimuth said he now expects to open the lounge as of Sept. 1.
The Bond Commission last week released $7 million for repairs and upgrades at XL. Freimuth said a portion of this money will pay for designs and to prepare bid documents for release this summer.
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