[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by CTbrooktrout

Hah, thanks for bringing back this thread... memories. I cared back then and still care about a Whalers revival. I think there's plenty of hockey interest in the state as we've had a great college hockey seen with Quinnipiac and Yale having great teams and we'll see what UConn does. Those saying nobody cares most likely don't enjoy hockey in the first place. Unless you've polled every household in CT, it's quite obnoxious to say nobody cares. You can suppose anything and be dead wrong. Plenty of interest if you open your eyes.

However there's no viable plans and no savior investor in sight.

12k season ticket threshold makes it a DOA issue. The bar for getting a 2nd shot always exceeds the bar to get the 1st shot.. Ct would need to show NHL "Why it is different this time" vs the 1st time. Not impossible, but incredibly high bar.

[Matrix2791]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

12k season ticket threshold makes it a DOA issue. The bar for getting a 2nd shot always exceeds the bar to get the 1st shot.. Ct would need to show NHL "Why it is different this time" vs the 1st time. Not impossible, but incredibly high bar.

Didn't they get like 11,000 season tickets sold back in 97 when they were trying to save the team? Not that far off from the 12,000 threshold. I know it still didn't save the team, but it could be done again and maybe exceed? As for a return? Yeah I agree it's a very big long shot.

[HumpDay]

Originally Posted by Matrix2791

Didn't they get like 11,000 season tickets sold back in 97 when they were trying to save the team? Not that far off from the 12,000 threshold. I know it still didn't save the team, but it could be done again and maybe exceed? As for a return? Yeah I agree it's a very big long shot.

Karmanos would have left regardless if they reached that magic number. He had no interest in staying here.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by Matrix2791

Didn't they get like 11,000 season tickets sold back in 97 when they were trying to save the team? Not that far off from the 12,000 threshold. I know it still didn't save the team, but it could be done again and maybe exceed? As for a return? Yeah I agree it's a very big long shot.

Not sure.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by HumpDay

Karmanos would have left regardless if they reached that magic number. He had no interest in staying here.

Correct.

After just reading about the fiasco surrounding the development of the Yard Boats (new name for the team since they probably are going to be dry docked) baseball stadium and surrounding projects, I doubt the state or city can even find the money or hire qualified developers to make the NHL become a reality in the near future. If they can't get a minor league baseball stadium built, how can they build a new arena or even renovate the existing one and expand it to accommodate a NHL team in this era?

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by CTbrooktrout

Hah, thanks for bringing back this thread... memories. I cared back then and still care about a Whalers revival. I think there's plenty of hockey interest in the state as we've had a great college hockey seen with Quinnipiac and Yale having great teams and we'll see what UConn does. Those saying nobody cares most likely don't enjoy hockey in the first place. Unless you've polled every household in CT, it's quite obnoxious to say nobody cares. You can suppose anything and be dead wrong. Plenty of interest if you open your eyes.

I grew up playing hockey (Darien and Crystal Ice rinks) and was a big Whalers fan (favorite - Blaine Stoughton). Nobody cared when they left in 97 and nobody cares if it comes back.
Karmonos knew he was in a terrible location between two huge major markets with 4 other teams in close proximity.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by Raider111

I grew up playing hockey (Darien and Crystal Ice rinks) and was a big Whalers fan (favorite - Blaine Stoughton). Nobody cared when they left in 97 and nobody cares if it comes back.
Karmonos knew he was in a terrible location between two huge major markets with 4 other teams in close proximity.

Nobody cared about the Whalers leaving? Quite the opposite.

Fans Campaign to Keep Whalers in Hartford - NYTimes.com

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...sMP/story.html

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

Correct.

After just reading about the fiasco surrounding the development of the Yard Boats (new name for the team since they probably are going to be dry docked) baseball stadium and surrounding projects, I doubt the state or city can even find the money or hire qualified developers to make the NHL become a reality in the near future. If they can't get a minor league baseball stadium built, how can they build a new arena or even renovate the existing one and expand it to accommodate a NHL team in this era?

Uh... it is the Yard Goats, not Yard Boats and it is the city that is building the stadium. The XL Center is owned by the State.

The problem with the stadium was that the city had an impossibly short time frame to build it in. They announced the project about two years ago so it did not give anyone much time to design and build a completely new stadium. The developers are highly respected. Centerplan built the wonderfully successful Storrs Center project out next to UConn. They also built a number of projects in the Middletown area. No reason to think they could not handle this. The problem from the beginning was the schedule. There was no time to vet design issues or get proper feedback on what the stadium should be. I think most people knew it was not going to be done on time but this went on for too long now. Jay

[FunkOdyssey]

To my untrained eye, it looks like the stadium is nearly complete. I don't understand why they wouldn't just let them finish the damn thing when they are so close. Are any details available regarding what % of the project is finished and what actual work remains to be done?

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Uh... it is the Yard Goats, not Yard Boats and it is the city that is building the stadium. The XL Center is owned by the State.

The problem with the stadium was that the city had an impossibly short time frame to build it in. They announced the project about two years ago so it did not give anyone much time to design and build a completely new stadium. The developers are highly respected. Centerplan built the wonderfully successful Storrs Center project out next to UConn. They also built a number of projects in the Middletown area. No reason to think they could not handle this. The problem from the beginning was the schedule. There was no time to vet design issues or get proper feedback on what the stadium should be. I think most people knew it was not going to be done on time but this went on for too long now. Jay

Yes, I know they are supposed to be the yard goats. But now that they essentially sitting in dry dock, the name Yard Boats seems more appropriate.

Regardless of who is at fault and likely both parties, this is a real black eye on Hartford. They should have picked a developer that has built minor league ball parks in other cities.