CANTLON’S CORNER: NEW XL CENTER ICE WORK CONTINUES 

CANTLON’S CORNER:

NEW XL CENTER ICE WORK CONTINUES

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Despite the all the financial difficulties for the XL Center, the new ice project continues on with no hiccups to report thus far.

“We’re hitting on all cylinders right now,” remarked CRDA Executive Director Mike Freimuth on Friday. “We have the pipes in. They’re getting welded as we speak and we have the rebar down. So we’re doing constant pressure monitoring and once all the welding is done we’ll have a system-wide test to make sure everything is ready before we pour the concrete.”

Cleary, the Hartford Wolf Pack lack of a playoff season has been a help to get this project closer to its target completion date.

A tentative completion date seems to be sometime in mid-July with a one month curing period following the concrete being poured.

“We think (mid-July) is likely target date. Once, we have all the components ready and in place, then we can pour (the concrete). Because of the cure period, we have to make sure everything is correctly done beforehand.”

One of the deadline pressures is the scheduled September 24^th Rogers Waters concert at the XL Center. It’s already been heavily promoted and the addition of two others concerts, along with the Wolf Pack training camp at the end of September are all on everybody’s mind.

“Certainly, we need to get the sub-floor in and done by the end of August. We clearly have those dates sitting in front us.”

One date Freimuth has no control over is the pending expiration of the state budget battle. The timeline for round two comes on June 30^th.

“We’re in the same boat as everyone else is,” Freimuth said. “We have to wait and we have developed contingencies and they aren’t any more appetizing as the budget will be.”

The current contingency plan for the XL Center is to operate under last year’s budget with a ten-percent reduction. When a budget does get passed a reduction of an unknown amount or size is planned.

“We had an 18% reduction the last two years and 25% since we started. It clearly is getting harder, but we are fortunate that we have these extra concerts coming in. It helps us run the building, meet payroll, and pay the utilities. All discretionary spending is frozen and many planned projects are on hold or may be shelved. There will be a cut again of what amount or size, I have no idea.

“Right now we can use some of the operating capital and revenue until this gets resolved. It’s critical for the building. If it’s still like this in three or four months, I might be just a little anxious,” Freimuth said seemingly with a heavy dose of anxiousness in his reply.

The CRDA Executive has confirmed that initial discussions with MSG regarding the Wolf Pack, who are entering the last year of their contract, have occurred.

“We have had surface and preliminary discussions, and I mean really preliminary; just two meetings to date to lay the ground work. We have discussed ideas and going forward what they are looking for and what we are looking for from them.”

He wouldn’t confirm what reliable sources have told Cantlon’s Corner that a two-year extension under the current terms structure for 2018-19 and 2019-20 at $1.55 and $1.6 million has been initially offered.

Like everything else, the present and future of the XL Center hinge on the legislative outcome in Hartford.

PHOTO CREDIT: CRDA

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