Whalers Owner and Compuware Corp. Chair Peter Karmanos
said he is interested in bringing 300-1,500 "well-paid,"
high-tech jobs to Greater Hartford, but added the jobs are
"separate" from his request for the state to pay for a new
arena, according to Mike Swift of the HARTFORD COURANT.
Karmanos: "Whether the Whalers stay or not, I view the
Hartford area as a prime spot for one of our development
labs." Swift adds the Compuware jobs "inevitably are being
wrapped into the debate" over a new arena (HARTFORD COURANT,
2/24). A recent poll shows that 72% of those surveyed and
54% of "hockey fans," would oppose the state spending $160-
240M on a new arena, according to Greg Garber of the
HARTFORD COURANT. The Hartford Courant/Connecticut phone
poll of 500 adults, conducted February 13-19 by the
Institute for Social Inquiry at the Univ. of CT, also showed
13% said the team leaving would make a big difference in the
quality of life in CT, but 52% said it wouldn't make much
difference at all. Also, 42% favored a larger state-funded
facility for UConn basketball, compared with 20% who
supported a new Whalers building (HARTFORD COURANT, 2/22).
