After Sen. Harding Expresses Concerns, $145 M XL Center Vote Gets Cancelled
July 16, 2024
CRDA cancels vote on $145M XL Center renovation plan amid GOP concerns
Hartford Business Journal
The Capital Region Development Authority postponed a key Tuesday vote on a $145 million renovation of Hartford’s downtown XL Center arena, after Republican legislative leaders questioned the involvement of an entertainment group tied up in a separate state lawsuit.
The CRDA has a tentative agreement with Los Angeles-based live entertainment promoter and venue manager OVG360 to contribute $20 million toward the pending renovation.
In return, OVG, which is under contract to manage the XL Center for another year, would get its contract extended another 20 years from the completion of the upgrades to Hartford’s roughly 16,000-seat sports and entertainment arena.
As part of the agreement, OVG would also keep the first $4 million in annual XL Center profits. Additional profits would be split with CRDA for upkeep of the venue.
On Monday, state House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora and House Republican Leader Stephen Harding sent a letter to Attorney General William Tong questioning the deal. Candelora and Harding’s letter notes the state has joined a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the latter of which has a close relationship with OVG.
The GOP letter notes concerns raised in a recent New York Times piece that highlights OVG’s relationship with Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
They also note Tong’s own lawsuit raising concerns OVG facilitated a lack of competition between Ticketmaster and Live Nation “using Ticketmaster as its own ticketing property and colluding on what business it pursued.”
“By advocating for Ticketmaster and excluding rival ticketers, OVG is alleged to have effectively reduced competition, limiting opportunities for other companies to challenge Ticketmaster’s market position,” the GOP letter states.
CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said Tuesday that the quasi-public agency’s meeting had been postponed in “deference” to the concerns raised by Candelora and Harding.
Freimuth said he anticipates some feedback from the AG’s office.
He said the OVG/Ticketmaster concern had been raised by CRDA board members previously.
“The (CRDA) board has the same questions Candelora is raising: how do we proceed?,” Freimuth said.
The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
OVG’s contract with Ticketmaster at the XL expires in one year, and a clause in the tentative agreement with OVG requires that service be rebid when the current contract expires, Freimuth noted. It also gives CRDA veto power over any ticket vendor OVG might select, he said.
Freimuth is hoping to hash through the newly highlighted concerns in time for a CRDA vote early next week, in order to keep the XL renovation on track.
Construction bids expire in August, and any delay risks throwing off a construction schedule carefully balanced around the arena’s schedule, he said.
In addition to the CRDA board, the $145 million deal requires approvals from Tong, the state Office of Policy and Management and state Bond Commission. CRDA has requested a Bond Commission meeting to approve the funding in early August.
Efforts to revitalize Hartford’s XL Center received a boost in May after the state legislature’s passage of a $370 million budget stabilization plan.
The bill increased the maximum amount of funding from $80 million to $125 million that the state and CRDA can contribute to an XL Center renovation.
That potential $45 million increase in funding came just weeks after bids for a $107 million XL Center renovation plan came in nearly $40 million over budget.