🔒Mandell recounts lessons learned in Dillon overhaul, forming soccer franchise

The lights are back on at Hartford’s historic Dillon Stadium thanks in large part to Hartford Athletic co-founder and chief executive Bruce Mandell.

Mandell and co-owners Joseph Calafiore Jr. and Scott Schooley of the new United Soccer League (USL) team stepped in this year to contribute the remaining $2.3 million needed to complete a nearly year-long overhaul of Dillon.

The project, largely paid for by public financing, had faced construction delays as the price of the renovations climbed to $14 million. Construction crews were mostly done in July when the Athletic began to play their final dozen home games at the 5,500-seat stadium, which is also regularly used for youth and high school athletics.

“It was a $10-million project that turned into $14 million. It happens in construction and somebody needed to come in to make the difference,” said Mandell, who is also CEO and owner of Data-Mail Inc., a family owned direct-mail company in Newington. “It came in after we already made our deal, we got nothing in exchange. We literally stepped in to fill a void on that project, which would have not gotten done, I don’t think, without that $2.3 million coming in.”

Redevelopment hiccups

The Athletic finished its inaugural season ranked nearly last in USL’s Eastern Conference, but that was far from the only headache Mandell had to deal with this year, which was his first as a sports-franchise owner.

In August, the state Auditors of Public Accounts claimed the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) — the quasi-public agency responsible for the redevelopment of Dillon — began funding too soon $4 million in state bond funds earmarked to re-seat and re-surface the 84-year-old stadium to accommodate pro soccer play.

Mandell was also fined $45,000 by the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) for making illegal campaign contributions in 2018 to the Connecticut Republican Party and its gubernatorial candidate, Bob Stefanowski.

“It’s great that the investigation is over, and there was no finding of any intent to do any wrongdoing, which we knew,” Mandell said recently in his Data-Mail office. “I thought SEEC acted professionally. It took a while, but that also made sense to make sure everything was done appropriately.”

Regardless of the challenges, Mandell sees the revitalization of Dillon, host over the years to countless high school football games and rock concerts by The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys, as a “legacy project.”

“It’s exactly what we said we were going to do, and executed almost flawlessly in the sense of building a stadium not only for a pro team, but for a community,” Mandell said. “My partners have been amazing, and all of these community constituents have stepped up. We’ve built a model for the city that’s sustainable. It wasn’t before, and that’s why Dillon was out of business.”

Building a franchise, community support

Mandell, who has been handing off more of his daily responsibilities at his Data-Mail company, spent part of this year filling out the remainder of the Athletic’s roster and front-office team. The club’s new headquarters on Pratt Street in downtown Hartford brims with Millennials hailing from across the U.S.

In addition to supporting the team’s 30-plus game schedule, the staff of about two dozen put on more than 200 community events in 2019, where team employees and players spent time with young children at area hospitals, schools and an immigration facility in Bridgeport, among other community engagements.

“Our players did a phenomenal job of understanding the importance of building community, and jumped at that,” he said.

As expected, Mandell and his partners lost money in 2019 even though the Athletic drew significant corporate support from founding sponsors Trinity Health Of New England, Stanley & Black Decker, The Hartford, Cigna, Travelers and others.

The Athletic’s home game attendance also ranked in the top half of the USL, averaging just over 5,000 fans a night. Paid attendance, though, was closer to 4,000 a game.

Overall, the team fell short of its attendance goals for its inaugural season and still needs another 1,000 paid attendees per game if it’s going to become a sustainable economic engine for the city and state, Mandell said.

Looking ahead at 2020

Mandell said he plans to find additional uses for Dillon in 2020, including concerts and more community and sporting events.

Meantime, the Athletic will be led in season two by new head coach Radhi Jaïdi, who is succeeding former coach Jimmy Nielsen.

Mandell said Nielsen built a solid foundation for the franchise, but they mutually parted ways because they were “not necessarily on the same page … .”

Despite recording only seven USL wins in 2019, Mandell said he expects the team to make the league playoffs next fall with support from a devout fanbase.

“We learned a lot, we lost some money, did some great things on the community side,” Mandell said. “We are prepared to launch for next year, and we will make the playoffs.”