Like many state government bodies that forge their fiscal year budgets in June, the Capital Region Development Authority could only take its best guess at how long COVID-19 and its financial impacts on venues like the XL Center might last.
Back then, with the virus having peaked in mid-April, CRDA overseers settled on an estimate that revenues would be 50% of their normal levels.
“That was overly optimistic,” CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said in an interview Wednesday.
Now, the quasi-public agency’s board of directors, which meets Thursday, will weigh CRDA’s options regarding the remaining nine months of its fiscal year, including potentially keeping some of its venues — including the XL Center and the Connecticut Convention Center — shut down for that entire time period.
“We’re wrestling with the question of ‘do we just close these things for the fiscal year?’ ” Freimuth said.
No concrete decisions are expected Thursday, Freimuth said, but board members will begin weighing various complexities involved with facility closures, including what it will mean for maintenance needs, staffing and state revenues, as well as for upcoming events that have active contracts with the venues.
For example, the Toronto FC Major League Soccer will play its home games at Rentschler Field starting later this month through early November. The NCAA Lacrosse finals are also currently scheduled for May at Rentschler. In a potential scenario where the venue shuts down after the final Toronto FC match in November, Freimuth said Rentschler would still honor the lacrosse contract, so long as the event isn’t postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 or some other reason.
Back in June, Freimuth said CRDA thought it was possible that sports and events would return to a more significant extent by now. But Gov. Ned Lamont recently extended the state’s pandemic-related public health emergency, which was to expire this month, to February, and capacity restrictions remain on indoor events and large gatherings.
There’s also still uncertainty over the schedules of both UConn athletics and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack — two key XL Center users and revenue drivers. The AHL season isn’t expected to start until at least December, and the UConn season, which normally begins in November, is also expected to be delayed.
“I’m looking at October now, the leaves are turning and no one has any clarity,” Freimuth said.
Longer term facility closures could lead to additional layoffs at the venues. Thus far, there have been 91 layoffs, including 50 at the convention center and 23 at XL, according to Freimuth. In addition, the pandemic has led to less work for nearly 400 part-time event workers, he said.
This story has been updated with additional context about Rentschler Field and venue layoffs.
