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Bring Back The Whale!!!


GHartford

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BJE,

Those are stadiums. There is a large diference between a stadium and an arena. Arenas don't cost anywhere as much or devour as much land.

And a modern Arena done correctly will enhance the appearance of Downtown, especially if they put it where it's been proposed. The TD Banknorth Garden is great and so is Phillips Arena, I would love for us to get one of these types of facilities. I for one, think it's worth the investment, even if it's only for Uconn, and Concerts.

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BJE -- None of those studies factor in this.

"""ANAHEIM, Calif. - Charles Richter roots for the Angels. Not the Anaheim Angels, not the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, not the California Angels. Just the Angels.

For Richter, that's the easiest way to keep ahead of a game that took a strange twist last year. That's when owner Arte Moreno renamed the 2002 World Series champions the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

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BJE, I think all of your points are valid, and personally feel that stadiums have no business whatsoever near a downtown, especially since they usually serve one team for a limited season.

That said, an arena downtown, which is very different from a stadium, as part of a larger mixed use development could be great. Just as the new MSG design in New York replaces a relic or poor planning, a similar complex of retail, residential and offices anchored by an arena supporting several events per week would increase foot traffic significantly.

With the NHL, UCONN men and women, cirque de soleil, tennis tourneys (like there used to be, remember?), concerts and other events, this would be a consistant draw. I hate large subsidized development as well, but a complex like this couldn't fail, could it?

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Northlands m.o has been this: buy up a bunch of buildings, and build up equity around them. If they build an arena, you can bet they'll get the rest of the area up around it to protect their investment. And I agree that residential is a better land-use, but also don't forget, Northlands has a history of building residential above arenas (HCC and Hartford 21). They never said they wouldn't build more residential on or near the new arena...

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What do you have against eBay? I have bought 2 Whalers t-shirts there. NFL Nut also has Whalers apparel at http://www.nflnut.com/store/page113.html , but I ordered from them on December 7 and still have not yet received my order, so let the buyer beware.

It's not eBay that I have beef against, it's PayPal, I've heard one too many horror stories involving them and now I understand it is the only way to pay on eBay (besides a check, which I'm just far too lazy to write out).

Edit: OK, I broke down and bought a shirt on eBay...btw, thanks for the link to nflnut RogerAnthony, I may use them in the future for a hat or something, but they had no cheap t-shirts.

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I agree Vlad. I wouldn't want to steal anyone's team, but if the team plans on moving, we need to get moving. Plus, what poetic justice it would be if we got the team who the Whale traded its future to (Ronnie Francis and Ulfie) back in the late 80s.

I never thought North Carolina "stole" our team. Its all on the shoulders of Peter Karmanos and Lowell Weiker. If we need someone to blame, those are the two. I can't fault North Carolina for stepping up to the plate of opportunity.

That being said, if Penguin management is looking to sell or move the team, there is no reason Hartford shouldn't inquire.

If not Hartford, they are going somewhere else anyway.

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Maybe I just wasn't a big enough fan, but does Hartford really have the base to support a hockey team? I would think that a Basketball team would fare better. But I may be way off on this.

I know for a fact Hartford has the fan base to support an NHL team. However, in regards to the NBA i'm surprised to hear anyone bring that up. I don't think I know anyone at all who is an NBA fan. While Connecticut supports UConn basketball I don't think there would be much interest in an NBA team.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm more of an NBA guy and think this could be an opportunity. We could bring Ray home. That would be great. Imagine the support the Sonics would get in Hartford, just from having the star player be Ray Allen. I won't be getting too excited but it's good to know this is a possibility and we are currently talking abour a new Arena in Hartford.

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The NBA could be supported in Hartford, just look at the UConn basketball programs. I really don't know a lot of die hard Celtics fans in the area. I myself hope they win but I don't live and die with them. If OKC can support a NBA team right now, Hartford/Connecticut certainly can.

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I'm more of an NBA fan too, but the Whalers have history in Hartford so I'd rather see them come back. And I don't think Hartford could possibly compete with Las Vegas for a team.

But IMO sports teams are gravy, and are not central to the Hartford comeback.

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I'm more of an NBA fan too, but the Whalers have history in Hartford so I'd rather see them come back. And I don't think Hartford could possibly compete with Las Vegas for a team.

But IMO sports teams are gravy, and are not central to the Hartford comeback.

I completely agree with this not being central to a comeback, even if for selfish reasons I'd put new arena and NHL team #1 on my to-do list. However, I find it more than a little unsettling the city of Seattle's hand is being forced over a building that's just a little over 10 years old (built right smack in the middle of the new arena boom and as old at the Shawmut/Fleet/TD Banknorth Center Garden).

I know I think in terms too simple to apply to sports economics. If teams cannot turn profits because of high operating costs (salaries) and in turn rely on corporations (luxury suites) and local government subsidies maybe it would be prudent to do what most do and curb spending habits. The Civic Center wasn't considered viable after only 20 years, you have new arenas and stadiums just turning 10 that haven't helped teams complete (best example MLB), even when it's been promised it would. Imagine the public uproar if you looked to replace local schools every 20 years. I'm starting to think it's impossible to keep up with.

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