XL Center in Connecticut Records Deficit in Its First Year of Business

The whole of Connecticut waited for the long-expected sports betting lounge in Hartford’s XL Center. However, it seems the lounge isn’t as profitable as expected, since the analysts predict that at the end of the fiscal year, in June, a deficit of $750.000 can be recorded.

The deficit in the 2023 fiscal year:

This sports bar and betting center was opened on September 18, and it is placed across 5.000 square feet of space. The newly established venue was a part of the XL Center’s upgrade, which was worth $15 million.

However, through December the deficit of $284,100 is recorded, which, according to Geremia, means that it will grow to a deficit of at least $600,000 and up to $750,000 by the end of the fiscal year if something doesn’t change.

Overall, the XL Center recorded an annual deficit of $2 million. An economic development agency that is responsible for overseeing the sports and entertainment arena in Hartford, CRDA, might be able to earn additional money and minimize the deficit through sports betting, as the Connecticut Lottery Corp. hopes.

CRDA had seen $18,000 earned from sports betting turned over to them so far.

Michael Freimuth, an Executive Director of CRDA, thinks that sports betting has been challenged because of changing vendors and that the lack of marketing activities is noticeable. However, he is looking forward to changing that. According to him, a deficit of about $400.000 during the first year was expected, since it’s a newly established startup.

New plans and big renovation:

But Freimuth has a lot of hope for a sports bar and lounge, especially when additional amenities are added on the western edge of the Center. He said: “During game days, you can’t get into the sports book. It’s jammed to capacity. The problem is Tuesday after 3 p.m., when traffic is nonexistent. You have to carry this facility on a seven-day, 12-hour basis.”

The sports lounge will soon start to offer various food options, and it is planned to adjust the operating hours in order to increase the profit. Among the plans is securing $100 million in order to renovate and upgrade the big XL Center. The companies are placing bids for renovation, and they can do that by the end of the month. OVG is a favorite since the company can help in securing the budget for renovation as well. 

As Hadford Business reports, Freimuth added: “We will get some real idea of how this budget holds or doesn’t hold by the end of the month.”