State lawmakers recently approved over $100 million in upgrades ($20 million of which would come from private funding), but that will only fix critical issues that are desperately needed, Freimuth said. Then there’s Gov. Ned Lamont’s public interest in bringing an NHL team — potentially the arena-challenged Arizona Coyotes — to Hartford, which would mean even more needed renovations and perhaps a complete revamp of the XL Center, which the Hartford Whalers once called home. The building will undergo a renovation that Freimuth says will take about two years, with most of the work done in the summer when there are fewer events at the arena. Officials had been trying to push through more funding for the XL Center for years but finally got it fully included in the budget that recently passed the state legislature. The deal paved the way for Oak View Group — which runs day-to-day operations of the XL Center — to invest $20 million in exchange for a long-term agreement to keep operating the arena.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/xl-center-hartford-ct-renovations-nhl-18154374.php