The renovation plan totalling $100M would focus on upgrades to the lower half of the 16,000-seat arenaGETTY IMAGES
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed a "languishing plan to renovate Hartford's aging XL Center" that includes a $55M "public funding boost spread out over two years," according to Kenneth Gosselin of the HARTFORD COURANT. A $100M renovation plan -- seen by supporters as "crucial to Hartford's revitalization -- would focus on upgrades to the lower half of the 16,000-seat arena." A grander, $250M "top-to-bottom transformation -- including the addition of a second upper concourse -- was scrapped after the cost ran up against opposition in the state legislature." Lamont signaled "support for a renovation early in his administration, but tempered his enthusiasm by saying not all of the cost should be shouldered by state taxpayers." Connecticut Commissioner of Economic & Community Development David Lehman said that the "option of attracting private investors is still alive." Gosselin notes the $55M -- $27.5M for the current fiscal year and the same in the next -- "would still need to be approved by state lawmakers and authorized by the State Bond Commission" (HARTFORD COURANT, 2/6).
