[BobNJ1960]

We had a rough two years in sports in the 90s, as the Whalers left just 2 years before the Patriots opted to stay in Massachusetts.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by BHW2436

Lots of NFL stadiums have never hosted a Super Bowl. It’s mostly nice weather areas and occasionally domes which I doubt Hartford location would have been.

Exactly. The only exception to this was Met Life Stadium in NJ in 2014. Because metro NYC was promised a Super Bowl if the dome for the Jets (and possibly 2012 Olympics) on Manhattan's West Side got built and (though over a decade later) to help metro NYC's post-9/11 economy, they did this as a one time "experiment". Got really lucky because although it was in the 50s for the game, 8 inches of snow fell the next day.

Originally Posted by Johnho771

Kraft definetely wanted to move the Pats to Hartford. How was it the year Foxboro hosted the super bowl? Oh yeah, that's right, it never hosted one. Kraft was drawn to the buzz and the appeal of having the stadium in a city and not a suburban new england town. The deal wasnt close to being signed, it was signed. Unfortunately the removal and clean up of the steam plant site proved to be complex, and at the end of the day a predictable stadium in sleepy foxboro prevailed over not knowing when youll have a stadium in the city.

No I think it was all a game. Could it have happened in desperation or if Kraft's bluff was called? Maybe, but the NFL would've tried hard not to make it happen. Not so much the market size (it's comparabale to Jacksonville (though there's always talk of them moving), Green Bay (accident of fate or should I say history, but there's some argument for it being the Milwaukee market which would be similar to Hartford in market size) and Buffalo (probably wouldn't get a team today despite the rabid fan base)), but combining that it would be one of the smallest NFL markets with closeness to NYC and the very Boston market the team would be leaving.

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

Exactly. The only exception to this was Met Life Stadium in NJ in 2014. Because metro NYC was promised a Super Bowl if the dome for the Jets (and possibly 2012 Olympics) on Manhattan's West Side got built and (though over a decade later) to help metro NYC's post-9/11 economy, they did this as a one time "experiment". Got really lucky because although it was in the 50s for the game, 8 inches of snow fell the next day.




No I think it was all a game. Could it have happened in desperation or if Kraft's bluff was called? Maybe, but the NFL would've tried hard not to make it happen. Not so much the market size (it's comparabale to Jacksonville (though there's always talk of them moving), Green Bay (accident of fate or should I say history, but there's some argument for it being the Milwaukee market which would be similar to Hartford in market size) and Buffalo (probably wouldn't get a team today despite the rabid fan base)), but combining that it would be one of the smallest NFL markets with closeness to NYC and the very Boston market the team would be leaving.

True, there was no real deal.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/23/nf...rd-connecticut

You also have to remember this time was a bit odd.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillette_Stadium

The steam plant was part of it and I would add by the late 1990's the commutter rail system was significantly finished meaning any boston sports fan in boston could take the train to it. So if that was the case they rebuilt a new one next to the old one and that was that.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by mdovell

True, there was no real deal.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/23/nf...rd-connecticut

You also have to remember this time was a bit odd.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillette_Stadium

The steam plant was part of it and I would add by the late 1990's the commutter rail system was significantly finished meaning any boston sports fan in boston could take the train to it. So if that was the case they rebuilt a new one next to the old one and that was that.

Didn’t you see the part of your Wikipedia link that says “Kraft then signed an agreement to move the team to Hartford on November 18, 1998.”?

I’m not sure that the Steam plant was a real issue. I certainly don’t remember it being an issue. The Connecticut Convention Center was built on the site a few years after the football stadium fell through. It opened in 2005. Gillette Stadium opened in 2002. Given it took a few years to propose, plan, fund, design and build the convention center, I doubt there would really have been a long delay opening if the stadium had been built.

[SteveM85]

Listen guys, let’s get something straight here.
If Kraft wanted to be in Hartford, Kraft would have been in Hartford.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Didn’t you see the part of your Wikipedia link that says “Kraft then signed an agreement to move the team to Hartford on November 18, 1998.”?

I’m not sure that the Steam plant was a real issue. I certainly don’t remember it being an issue. The Connecticut Convention Center was built on the site a few years after the football stadium fell through. It opened in 2005. Gillette Stadium opened in 2002. Given it took a few years to propose, plan, fund, design and build the convention center, I doubt there would really have been a long delay opening if the stadium had been built.

That agreement was for exclusive negotiating right to build a stadium for the Patriots. The actual agreement wasn't signed until February 1999 and give Kraft a number of opt out clauses which he had to do by May 2, 1999. When he saw how there was no way that Hartford could deliver a stadium in his negotiated location within the negotiated timeline, he opted out.

[BHW2436]

I love sports

I respect women’s sports. Love watching Olympics, Women’s National Team soccer, tennis, college bball and occasionally find myself watching others on TV. I enjoyed the women’s NCAA tourney and got caught up in Caitlin Clark and all that…

Watching the Sun Fever game right now, on TV, solely because of Clark. Honestly, it’s hard to watch.

The good women’s college basketball teams play well together. Watching UConn and others is good team basketball. Play development, passing, etc. same thing with college Mens basketball vs iso star driven nba bball.

This game, while a small sample size, is pretty bad. You don’t get the great team play of college and you don’t get the physical ability of nba men.

I’m seeing missed layups, sloppy play, and 3 air balls in the first half.

I would like to see the WNBA succeed, I really would. It will have a huge season from a ratings and attendance standpoint. But honestly, it’s a bad product to watch. It’s like watching college baseball or DII sports. It’s not the best players and with no real fandom, who cares?

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by BHW2436

I love sports

I respect women’s sports. Love watching Olympics, Women’s National Team soccer, tennis, college bball and occasionally find myself watching others on TV. I enjoyed the women’s NCAA tourney and got caught up in Caitlin Clark and all that…

Watching the Sun Fever game right now, on TV, solely because of Clark. Honestly, it’s hard to watch.

The good women’s college basketball teams play well together. Watching UConn and others is good team basketball. Play development, passing, etc. same thing with college Mens basketball vs iso star driven nba bball.

This game, while a small sample size, is pretty bad. You don’t get the great team play of college and you don’t get the physical ability of nba men.

I’m seeing missed layups, sloppy play, and 3 air balls in the first half.

I would like to see the WNBA succeed, I really would. It will have a huge season from a ratings and attendance standpoint. But honestly, it’s a bad product to watch. It’s like watching college baseball or DII sports. It’s not the best players and with no real fandom, who cares?

Agreed. The league revenue stinks, and there are only a handful of players on any team Geno would even have visited to recruit years earlier. It only exists now because they feel politically pressured to offer a women's version of the NBA, not because the business model works. Based purely on bottom line, like the old ABA, they would have been liquidated a few decades back. Clark will only alter that a tiny bit for her first visit to large WNBA cities each.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by robr2

That agreement was for exclusive negotiating right to build a stadium for the Patriots. The actual agreement wasn't signed until February 1999 and give Kraft a number of opt out clauses which he had to do by May 2, 1999. When he saw how there was no way that Hartford could deliver a stadium in his negotiated location within the negotiated timeline, he opted out.

Just like in 2024, the original letter of intent is simply an introduction to the possibility of moving, or in new league team cities, the new opportunity to get a team. There were many hurdles to get through, and Ct failed to do so. Hence, the Pats stayed in Massachusetts.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

Just like in 2024, the original letter of intent is simply an introduction to the possibility of moving, or in new league team cities, the new opportunity to get a team. There were many hurdles to get through, and Ct failed to do so. Hence, the Pats stayed in Massachusetts.

The Pats stayed in MA because that's what Kraft ultimately decided. If Kraft wanted Hartford he would have had Hartford, the decision was solely his own. Goodell, the Mara's and Woody would have been on board with it no problem. THere will never ever be an NFL team in Hartford, ever! unless it's one that Kraft owns.