Capital Region Development Authority said it expects to seek a buyer or investor by the end of this monthGETTY IMAGES
A "controversial bailout for the city of Hartford" has resulted in $100M for XL Center upgrades "being cut from the governor's proposed capital improvement budget," according to Kenneth Gosselin of the HARTFORD COURANT. House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said that it is likely that funding for XL Center will "resurface before the end of the session." Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy proposed spending another $100M for XL Center "as part of changes to the state budget, the second half of the state's current two-year fiscal plan." The $100M "could be used to make upgrades in advance of a sale or represent a financial commitment by the state to a potential buyer." Aresimowicz said that the state approved $40M last year to make the "aging, 43-year old arena more attractive to a potential buyer, partly by purchasing the surrounding atrium and storefronts." Aresimowicz and other legislators said that it will "likely take additional state investment to make a public-private partnership attractive to a buyer or other private investor." Lawmakers agreed last year to spend another $40M on the arena, with the "requirement that a buyer would be sought." The Capital Region Development Authority, which oversees the arena, said that it "expects to seek a buyer or investor by the end of this month" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/12).
