“It’s hard to quantify, but, yes, the move to the Big East is a good thing,” Mike Freimuth, the straight shooting executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, said Wednesday. The new building, if constructed properly, would instantly become the Big East’s jewel. Freimuth said he envisions “optimizing” 11,000-12,000 seats. And yet with a rather ingenious mechanical wall, the new XL Center could still accommodate 16,000 for big events. Most events at the XL Center draw in the 11-12,000 range anyway, Freimuth said. The extra 4,000 seats are used for only five to 10 percent of the events.
https://www.theday.com/sports-columns/20190626/next-up-for-state-u-should-be-makeover-for-xl-center