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www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 19, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 5 Travelers' Bessette: XL Center key to Hartford's future T he XL Center is crucial to Hart- ford's future, and city and state policymakers must come up with a plan to make sure the building isn't mothballed. That was the message Andy Bes- sette, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of The Travel- ers Cos. and a board member of the Capital Region Development Authority, delivered to a Hartford audience Nov. 14, at Hartford Business Journal's first annual Community Excellence and Nonprofit Awards. "The XL Center is an asset for this region, it's critically important," Bes- sette said. "Right now, CRDA is doing a lot of good work … and it's so impor- tant that [the XL Center] not only stays what it is today, but gets better and bigger. … It's a strong asset. We have to make sure it survives." Bessette's comments came during a panel discussion about the three ma- jor Hartford insurers' pledge to donate $50 million to the city of Hartford over the next five years, to help stabilize the city's finances. Bessestte, along with Mayor Luke Bronin and executives from The Hart- ford and Aetna — David Robinson, The Hartford's executive vice president and general counsel and Floyd Green, Aetna's vice president and head of the commu- nity activation and local marketing team — talked about the momentum the city of Hartford has had in recent years with a wave of state-subsidized development, in- cluding new apartments, Dunkin' Donuts Park, a pro soccer stadium, a new Stanley Black & Decker tech center, UConn's new campus and the rise of an insuretech incubator, among other initiatives. Bessette said all of those efforts are improving employers' ability to recruit talent downtown and making the city a more dynamic place, but much work remains, including lowering the city's high property tax rate (74.29 mills). But he stressed the importance of a strong and vibrant XL Center, which has been a political hot potato for years. The aging entertainment venue, which has lost business to an increas- ingly competitive market, is in need of significant repairs, and attempts to secure $250 million from the state legislature for a major overhaul have been rebuffed so far. One alternative under review would scrap plans for the $250 million re- build, to one in which the upper and lower seating "bowls'' are reconfigured to modern standards, a move CRDA officials have said could cut the price tag in half, to $125 million. The XL Center funding request, how- ever, will now fall into the lap of Gov.- elect Ned Lamont, who told the Hartford Business Journal in October the arena should be overhauled by private inves- tors, with state oversight, rather than the state investing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in the venue. During the panel discussion, Bronin also praised the city's momentum in recent years and acknowledged the in- creased engagement among the city's major employers. But he said Hartford has a three-to- five year window to leverage that prog- ress — including a $500 million-plus bailout from the state — into sustain- able and prolonged economic growth. He urged for continued private- sector investment in the city. "If you are at a company, there are investments you can make that help make a more vibrant city," he said. "Maybe they are on the arts and cultural side, maybe they are investments in real estate." 14 Bobala Road 3rd Floor Holyoke, MA 01040 Tel: 413.536.3970 www.WAdvising.com Headquarters 280 Trumbull St 24th Floor Hartford, CT 06103 Tel: 860.522.3111 One Hamden Center 2319 Whitney Ave, Suite 2A Hamden, CT 06518 Tel: 203.397.2525 One wrong click or a weak password can cause a security incident or data breach. The impact can be devastating. Make a Commitment to Cybersecurity Today Whittlesey's Cybersecurity Assessment (CSA) will help identify your cyber risk level. Call a Whittlesey Expert! 860.524.4433 61% of data breach victims are businesses with under 1,000 employees. 1 1 2017 Data Breach Investigation Report, Executive Summary – Verizon ASSURANCE | ADVISORY | TAX | TECHNOLOGY Travelers Cos.' Andy Bessette speaks at HBJ's recent community excellence awards. HBJ PHOTO | JOE COOPER