Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has invested $250 Million into the AAF after reports of the league struggling to meet payroll. While many have been saying this is a bad sign for the league, I talk about how Dundon’s investment shows faith in the upstart league and why the Alliance is like any starting business.
Hartford Whalers
An all New England Super Bowl? The Rams & Patriots connection to Connecticut
The Rams and Patriots will face off in the Super Bowl and many will make the connection between their first Super Bowl meeting in 2002. However, both franchises are connected in another way. At one time both strongly considered moving to Hartford, Connecticut. The Patriots did agree to move which we covered on another podcast which is below and you will want to check it out. On this episode we highlight the Rams considering to move to Connecticut in 1994 and could you imagine this Super Bowl being the Hartford Rams vs. the New England Patriots? I talk about the relocation plans and which Connecticut actor was the head of a group that wanted the NFL in his home state.
Looking back at New England Patriots move to Connecticut 20 years later
Twenty years ago on November 18, 1998 the Robert Kraft announced that the New England Patriots would be moving to Hartford Connecticut for the 2001 season. The Project based in downtown Hartford would be over a billion dollars with the centerpiece being a new state-of-the-art 61,000 seat stadium. Despite the generous offer, the Patriots would ultimately stat in Foxborough and the rest is history.
What happened? On this episode I am creating a new segment where I look at team’s moving and why it happened. In this case there were multiple reasons why it didn’t happen because of both Connecticut and the Robert Kraft. However, there’s a third party that never gets mentioned which I’ll reveal and exclusive audio from Robert Kraft on why the Patriots didn’t move to Connecticut’s Capital.
The Connecticut Rams? How the Rams almost moved to Hartford
On January 12th 2016, the NFL owners voted 30-2 in favor of moving the Rams back to Los Angeles after moving to St. Louis in 1995. It had been nearly two decades since the Rams called Los Angeles home with plans to build a state of the art facility in the coming years. However, what many people don’t realize is that before the move back to L.A. the Rams were in an intriguing position in the mid 90s. Back then they were a fledgling franchise that was desperate for a new stadium which led to their move to St. Louis. Did you know that their multiple cities bidding for the Rams including a city that many people couldn’t imagine hosting an NFL franchise.
In the early 90s the Rams popularity in L.A. had been waning. From 1990-1994 the Rams struggled on the field going 19 and 45 over that span. Like a lot of franchises in the 90s across the sports world, the Rams felt that they needed a state of the art facility to be competitive and claimed that Anaheim stadium in orange county needed to be addressed. By this time team owner Georgia Frontierre began looking for a new home for her franchise and began looking at potential destinations. While the front-runner and eventual winner was St. Louis, there were other cities that looked to lure the Rams including a surprising contender. Who was that contender?
Hartford, Connecticut.
Hartford was one of the cities courting the Rams in the early 90s.
At the time the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut were looking to become major players in the sports world. After acquiring the New England Whalers and re-branding them to the Hartford Whalers, the city now had a professional hockey franchise since the late 70s. Despite average attendance for the NHL franchise the city began looking for another professional franchise, specifically the NFL. St. Louis remained the favorite offering a brand new state of the art indoor facility with the cities of Baltimore and Hartford offering their own stadium plans to lure the Rams. Baltimore had approved plans for a new stadium and were looking to add a franchise since the Colts famously left for Indianapolis.
Artist rendering of the over $200 Million proposed stadium modeled after the L.A. Coliseum north of Interstate 84
In the early 90s, the Governor of Connecticut Lowell Weicker had developed a plan that would invest in a $252 Million dollar state of the art football stadium in the northern neighborhood of Hartford, just north of Interstate 84. The stadium was designed after the Los Angeles coliseum which could have been directly influenced to bring one of the two L.A. franchises to Connecticut.
Keep in mind in the early 90s both the Raiders and Rams were looking for either a new stadium in Los Angeles or a new market with a new stadium. The Raiders considered multiple locations in California before settling for Oakland with the Rams exploring new out-of-state potential markets. While this may seem like a pipe dream by state officials in Connecticut to lure a team to a the 27th television market in the country, the idea of moving football to Hartford did have serious backers.
Walter Payton and Paul Newman were both in a group that wanted to bring the NFL to Connecticut
Who would want football in Connecticut? Surprisingly, a strong group was lobbying for this idea. Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton was a member of this group and even visited the state to talk to governor Weicker at the capital about the project. Other members of the party included author Tom Clancy, and actors Tom Selleck and Paul Newman. Interestingly enough it was Newman who wanted professional football in his home state and he even tried to purchase the New England Patriots in 1994 before Robert Kraft purchased the team. There were skeptics, but Connecticut was the largest untapped market in the country without an NFL franchise and the city had agreed to fully finance a state of the art facility.
So why did the deal fall through? There were multiple reasons why the Rams to Hartford didn’t happen. First, St. Louis was the favorite and offered a larger market that had an NFL history. It also offered a brand new facility and despite relocation, the Rams wouldn’t need to change conferences or division. Moving to Hartford would have meant realignment for the entire NFL in order for the move to work.
In 1995 the Rams officially moved to St. Louis
Second, it was hard for the Rams to even get to St. Louis. The league’s owners originally voted down the move to St. Louis and only relented after the Rams ownership said they would sue the league. After long legal battles with the other Los Angeles franchise, the Raiders, and their efforts to relocate, the league didn’t want to go through another legal battle and relented despite opposition from multiple owners.
Third, if St. Louis hadn’t worked Baltimore was a better option for the league offering a larger market, another new stadium plan, and a history of NFL football. In 1996 they would get the Cleveland Browns after Art Modell moved the team after 1995 season forming the Baltimore Ravens.
Finally, the league just wasn’t interested in a smaller market like Hartford. I will elaborate on this more when I talk about the New England Patriots planned move to Hartford in 1998. While the state was serious about luring the NFL with two consecutive governors offering lucrative stadium deals, it just wasn’t going to lure and NFL franchise given the market size and proximity to larger markets in Boston and New York. This push for the NFL is a key contributor to why Hartford may have lost it’s NHL franchise, the Hartford Whalers but that will be discussed at a later date.
The Stadium’s original site is now a baseball team for the city’s Double A franchise.
Today the site for the proposed stadium has become a sports stadium two decades later. The site is now home to Dunkin Donuts Park, a 6,000 seat stadium that’s home of the city’s minor league baseball team, the Hartford Yard Goats. Still Connecticut football fans can only imagine what could have been if Hartford has connected on a Hail Mary pass to bring professional football to Connecticut’s capital.
New buyer for XL Center the first step for the NHL in Hartford again?
Is their hope for the NHL in Hartford on the horizon? One of the biggest obstacles preventing a team playing in Connecticut’s capital is the lack of a state of the art arena, however that soon may no longer be a problem.
Formerly the Hartford Civic Center, the XL Center is now one of the oldest active arenas in the United States
The Hartford Courant has reported that Oak Street Real Estate Capital, a Chicago firm, will submit a proposal to purchase and renovate the city’s arena later this month. The XL Center, formerly the Hartford Civic Center, is one of the oldest facilities in the country and needs a major overhaul. Currently, the arena hosts concerts is home to UConn Basketball, UConn Ice Hockey, and the AHL’s Hartford WolfPack.
The offer to the city of Hartford did outline the plan to renovate the building and planned to put in over $250 Million with the intention of making it a state of the art facility. The state has proposed two options in recent years, one of which was a $250 Million dollar proposal to bring the current property up to a state of the art facility through renovation.The other, and more expensive option, was to completely tear down the existing structure and build a new arena which would have cost $500 Million.
Artist rendering of what the $250 Million renovation could look like
The outline of the deal would be $50 Million upfront from the group to the state, but the state would pay 7.5% of the renovation costs and would be subject to annual increases of two percent. This would mean at the minimum the state would invest roughly $19 Million for the reconstruction. Just to tear down the existing structure would cost $40 Million
The following is a statement from the Oak Street Group on their interest in acquiring the XL Center.
“Our interest in the XL Center stems from our larger goal of revitalizing the Hartford area. We believe that the transformation of the aging arena into a state-of-the art sports and entertainment venue can be the focal point of the city’s redevelopment and spur economic growth.”
Included in this statement, Oak Street it is ready to close on the acquisition of the building in the coming month and would send its proposal to the state for the upcoming request for proposals.
Could an upgraded arena bring back the NHL? Seattle gives Hartford a glimmer of hope.
If the XL Center is upgraded to a state of the art facility it could put the city of Hartford in the discussion for a potential NHL team. The good news for hockey fans in Hartford is there are two encouraging trends in the National Hockey League that could eventually help the city land a franchise.
The first is the league’s expansion plan. The league is already looking to add a 32nd franchise in Seattle and after a successful ticket drive, Seattle is inching closer to professional hockey. After the success of hockey in Las Vegas due to a new expansion draft that has given the Golden Knights the quality talent to earn a sweep in the first round the NHL playoffs. With the new expansion plan working it is possible that Hartford could land an expansion franchise rather than relocating an existing team.
Renderings of Key Arena in Seattle after it is upgraded into a state of the art facility to hold an NHL franchise
The second factor is that Seattle is setting a new arena precedent for attracting an NHL franchise. It was believed that the only way to attract an NHL franchise with a brand new arena. However, if Seattle is awarded an official franchise, it proves that a city can update a pre-existing arena to a modern standard rather than building a new arena. In Seattle, the plan is to extensively remodel Key Arena into a state of the art facility. If the NHL does put a team in Seattle for the 2020 season, it shows that they are willing to put a team in a state of the art facility even if it is not a brand new facility.
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Hartford Whalers Special
Since purchasing the Carolina Hurricanes in January, new owner Tom Dundon has embraced the team’s former identity, the Hartford Whalers. On this special episode we’re not only breaking down how the Whalers brand is now being implemented with the Hurricanes after two decades, but also take a look at Hartford’s history. Could a successful resurgence of the Whalers brand mean that the Brass Bonanza could return to Hartford one day? How does an expansion team in Seattle impact Hartford’s NHL future? Why is the Whalers brand still popular and who created one of sport’s greatest logos? Listen to find out.
Rich Sports Talk 