To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Chris Licata (CLAS ’06) and I am writing to you today regarding the reported plans of the board to review a plan on Wednesday for a proposed on-campus Hockey Arena.
If media reports on this proposal are correct, I would strongly urge you to avoid voting on such a plan until a better option is submitted.
UConn sports serves as one of the best ambassador’s to the rest of the country and world the university has. This has been evident in the influx of applications and quality candidates the school receives each time our basketball teams claim a national championship.
As UConn Men’s Ice Hockey continues to improve and compete in Hockey East every year, I think it would be in the school’s best interest to make sure the team has access to facilities that are worthy of being in the best conference in America and allow it to continue to grow.
Simply put, this reported plan is a losing proposition for fans, students, the university and state.
To begin with, the reported capacity of 2,500 is far too small for a program that averaged nearly 4,300 fans per game last season. As our team continues to improve and win, and the fan base grows, it seems fairly foolish to shut out upwards to 2,000 fans per game. The reported capacity would put us squarely at the bottom of our conference in on-campus arena size, which is going to play a major role in Coach Cavanaugh’s ability to recruit top talent to the program.
Next, the proposed price tag and funding structure seems very concerning. I am fully conscious that the State of Connecticut is in a major budget crisis right now, but entering into a long-term lease agreement for an on-campus arena that is so small and not likely to attract many top-tier Hockey East opponents seems very foolish. If the school is on the hook for $1.6 million in rent for that facility, it’s going to struggle to generate the revenue if you’re relying on selling out this arena against AIC or Army. Additionally, compared to similar universities that have built stadiums, what we are supposedly getting for $45 million doesn’t seem so great:
– In 2014, RIT opened a 4,000 seat on campus arena for $40 million.
– In 2011, Notre Dame opened a 5,000+ on campus arena for $50 million.
– In 2007, Miami (OH) opened a 3,300 seat on campus arena for $42 million (in 2017 dollars)
Finally, I would also make an appeal to the Board to please not repeat the same mistake it has made with UConn Football in relying on Hartford as a home. Your students are among your most loyal fans, and they always will be. Look at Rentschler Field every Saturday right now: the product isn’t very good and the stadium is at around 45 percent capacity for every game. Your students – who continue to pack the student section at Gampel despite back-to-back men’s basketball seasons where we’ve missed the tournament – won’t make the trek off-campus to East Hartford. (Editor’s Note: Women’s basketball’s Gampel Pavilion student season tickets sold out for the first time this year. XL student season tickets are still available.) Investing in the Storrs-Mansfield community will give students ownership over UConn hockey in a way they simply were not offered with UConn football. They will be there for the team when alumni and casual UConn fans around the state may not; give them an on-campus facility they are proud to pack every night.
Case-in-point, look at UConn Men’s Soccer: every single year the program is in the top three in attendance, driven primarily by student interest and attendance.
I’m a proud alum and donor to UConn Athletics (albeit not a major one) and it is very disheartening to see our school continue to make the same mistakes over and over again with our athletic department. Let’s invest in Storrs like Michigan has invested in Ann Arbor, like Penn State has invested in State College and like so many other flagship universities have with their neighboring community.
Respectfully,
Chris Licata
