HARTFORD - Governor Ned Lamont filed for a bond package that will include $55 million-dollars for renovations to the XL Center.
Mayor Luke Bronin is happy to finally see money being allocated to the arena but says there is a long road ahead.
"It’s a facility. Its obsolete. It’s aging fast. It’s falling apart. We need to move quickly to make the investments that I think are necessary to modernize it," said Mayor Bronin.
Mayor Bronin believes renovations to the arena can be an important economic driver for the state and the region. The owners of the arena, Capital Region Development, say it would take $250 million-dollars to do a complete renovation of the arena. With competition coming from nearby arenas and new casinos, something had to be done.
Bronin considers this allocation a piece of the puzzle but says they will need to come up with other ways to string together funding.
"At the end of the day I hope that our legislators and both parties and folks all around the state recognize that we have two choices,” said Mayor Bronin. “Either you have a rusting, vacant hunk of steel and concrete in the center of your capital city or you have a strong competitive venue that attracts things like the NCAA tournament which brought so much activity last spring to not just the city but to the region.”
Mayor Bronin says changes to the arena will come as quickly as possible. Right now he says the arena is living on borrowed time.