“COVID threw us all off the balance beam this past year,” Mike Freimuth, the executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, said last week. “In fact, the XL’s absence over this last year has certainly been felt in downtown energy, hotel, restaurant and bar trade and made clearer the real adverse impact of losing the building would have on the town, certainly more than any study could ever show.” What began some years ago at $250 million has been downsized to a taxpayer-funded $100 million, lessened mostly through fewer seats (16,000 to 12,000) but with more focus on amenities for the lower bowl. CRDA and Northland Investment Corp., which owns the atrium and storefront space outside the arena — viewed as an important piece in expansion of restrooms, concessions and the concourse — were to meet in January to further negotiate sale of the space. That meeting was postponed. Perhaps there’s a happy coincidence here that a renovated XL Center is being mentioned as a possible major sports betting venue, adding to its cachet. Keyword: renovated. It’s time, folks. The XL is too valuable to become a parking lot.
https://www.theday.com/sports-columns/20210504/xl-center-is-far-too-valuable-to-become-parking-lot