Hartford Business Journal

January 21, 2019

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www.HartfordBusiness.com • January 21, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Newsmakers EDITORIAL Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139, gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com Gregory Seay | News Editor, ext. 144, gseay@HartfordBusiness.com Matt Pilon | News Editor, ext. 143, mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com Sean Teehan | Staff Writer, ext 145, steehan@hartfordbusiness.com Joe Cooper | Web Editor, ext. 127, jcooper@HartfordBusiness.com Stephanie Meagher | Research Director Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer BUSINESS Christopher Santilli | Publisher, ext. 124, csantilli@HartfordBusiness.com Donna Collins | Associate Publisher, ext. 121, dcollins@HartfordBusiness.com Lauren Stroud | Events & Project Manager, ext. 137, lstroud@HartfordBusiness.com Christina Zuraw | Events Coordinator, ext. 134, czuraw@hartfordbusiness.com Shannon Vincelette | HBJ Office and Events Coordinator, ext. 122, svincelette@hartfordbusiness.com David Hartley | Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com Kristen P. Nickerson | Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 133, knickerson@HartfordBusiness.com Karen Spatafora | Accounts Manager, ext. 131, kspatafora@HartfordBusiness.com Raki Zwiebel | Credit and Collections Manager Valerie Clark | Accounting Assistant/Office Manager Jill Coran | Human Resources Manager PRODUCTION Christopher Wallace | Art Director, ext. 147, cwallace@HartfordBusiness.com Liz Saltzman | Creative Director, ext. 140, lsaltzman@HartfordBusiness.com Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Joseph Zwiebel | President, ext. 132, jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com Mary Rogers | COO/CFO, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: Annual subscriptions are $84.95. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008. ADVERTISING: For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998.Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103. NEWS DEPARTMENT: If you have a news item: Call us at (860) 236-9998, fax us at (860) 570-2493, or e-mail us at news@HartfordBusiness.com. Hartford Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published weekly, 49x per year - including two special issues in November and December — by new England Business Media, LLC, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at additional entry points. Tel: (860) 236-9998 • Fax (860) 570-2493 Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O. Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894 www.copyright.com HartfordBusiness.com (860) 236-9998 H. Scott Phelps W ill H. Scott Phelps' retirement stick this time? Phelps, who came out of retirement in 2014 to lead the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) as president, retired again on Dec. 31. He previously served as president and chief executive of the Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau for more than three decades. As he leaves his position at CTCSB, Phelps notes that in fiscal 2018, the organization brought in close to $55 mil- lion in spending by visitors, which generated over $3.6 million in Connecticut taxes, an 8.6-to-1 return on the state Department of Eco- nomic & Community Development's investment in the bureau. Looking back at his time leading CTCSB, Phelps said he is most proud of raising the or- ganization's return on investment, building and diversifying the bureau's public-private partner- ships and working to make the Hartford-based organization more relevant statewide. Why are conventions and sporting events seen as a potent source of economic development? Visitors to conventions, meetings and sports events spend lots of money — dollars that are earned elsewhere to be spent here. These are fresh new dollars to our state that will be spent multiple times, supporting hospitality industry jobs and generating substantial new Connecticut tax revenue. In Connecticut, what do you see as the largest growth opportunities for sports venues, conven- tion halls, etc.? Event planners are attracted to Connecticut's location and demographics, since we are conve- niently between New York City and Boston, with easy access from car, bus, train or plane. More than 23.5 million people live within a 2.5-hour drive to our state's capital — a major selling point for conventions, trade shows and sporting events that need to draw participants and sell tickets. We also are seeing the establish- ment of creative new venues to meet the demand of growth sports: the four-court Oxford Pick- leball takes advantage of the demand for more play space, and the 11-field Fastpitch Nation Park will open this spring in Windsor as the largest fastpitch softball complex in the Northeast. Cities across the country have given large tax incentives to professional sports teams that build stadiums in their municipalities. Do you think these cities get a good return on that investment? There are some models of stadium construc- tion that have made sense, while others have not worked out as well, and it depends upon the indi- vidual community. I believe that the most impor- tant thing a professional sports franchise brings to a community is "pride of place." If a city is the home of a professional team, it suggests that you have a certain infrastructure, capabilities and image. This is huge when working with promoters and planners as it conveys that you are at a level where you can handle meetings and events with ease, and it promotes new business growth as well. VERBATIM Healthy pay raise "This important decision is a reflection of our respect for our staff and a product of our core value of integrity that calls us to 'do the right thing.' " Hartford HealthCare CEO Elliot Joseph on the health system's decision to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour. GREEN SOLUTIONS…ONE SOURCE The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For over 50 years, our clients have trusted us to provide sustainable, more efficient, greener facilities. We are experts in: Energy Systems & Incentives Building Automation Technologies Sustainable Design & Operation 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com License #'s: E1-104939 • S1-302974 • P1-203519 • F1-10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • PLUMBING • SHEET METAL • BUILDING AUTOMATION • FACILITIES SERVICES former President, Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau H. Scott Phelps

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