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www.HartfordBusiness.com • March 4, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 11 ment week to encourage pedestrians to attend March 20's open practices and serve as tour guides for visitors looking for discounted food or drink specials. "There's a lot of logistical planning that goes into this," Lawrence said. "If we were to fill the place throughout the day on Wednesday's practice session, that leaves an impact on the (NCAA) selection committee. Hopefully we can turn this into something that comes back … where we are part of the NCAA's rotation." The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) has also served as a key resource between the region's hotel market, the NCAA and XL. CTCSB is leveraging numerous hotels in Hartford, East Hartford, Windsor, Glastonbury and Cromwell as grounds for lodging the droves of players, coaches, training staff, media, cheerleaders, bands, alumni groups, referees and fans traveling to Greater Hartford for the tournament. Estimates show more than 3,500 room nights are expected to be booked in nine of the region's hotels to house tournament visitors. City organizers are hoping a national- ly known team — such as potential No. 1 seeds Duke or Kentucky — is selected to play at XL Center because it would likely create an even bigger economic boost for the arena, city and region. "The tourna- ment should sell- out the region. … The Hartford Mar- riott has been sold out for months," says Robert Murdock, CTCSB's newly appointed president. "Not only are people coming in to watch the games, we'll get a lot of people trying to be near the event in the city where their team is." XL's fate uncertain While XL Cen- ter enjoys a boost this March, it's long-term future remains a big uncertainty. CRDA has been lobbying for a major renova- tion to the arena, originally asking for a $250 million state investment then scaling that request down to $100 million last year after state lawmakers balked at the original price tag. The arena's fate now rests partially in the hands of Gov. Ned Lamont, whose recently proposed two- year budget didn't allocate any XL Center funding. At the same time, Lamont has said he wants to cut state borrow- ing by 39 percent, meaning less funding will be available for ma- jor projects like an arena overhaul. CRDA last year also sought prospective buyers to acquire and renovate the aging arena, which has been a consistent money-loser in re- cent years, but that effort fell flat with just one bid from a Chicago private- equity investor. What is certain, according to Freimuth, is that more XL investments result in more dollars for Connecticut's coffers. "Events of this scale could only be made possible with more invest- ments," says Freimuth. BY THE NUMBERS NCAA Tournament 25,000 The number of fans expected to visit Hartford's XL Center for the NCAA tour- nament on March 21 and 23. 5 The number of times XL Center, formerly the Hartford Civic Center, has hosted the NCAA men's basketball tournament (1983, 1985, 1988 and 1998). $10.8B The value of a TV agreement between CBS and Time Warner's Turn Broadcast- ing to broadcast all men's tournament games on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. $1.2B The amount of TV advertising spending on the tournament in 2017, according to Kantar Media. The XL Center, which hosts select UConn men's and women's basketball games, has recorded annual deficits ranging between $1 million to $2 million in recent years. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED INFORMATION IS POWER! Did you know our lists are available for download? Our lists can be your lists! • Choose your format: Excel or PDF • Download one or all the lists • Get extendend lists not available any where else Our Lists are the only comprehensive source for information on the region's companies, executives and industries that drive Central Connecticuts' economy and market. Questions? Want to be included on a List? Contact Stephanie R. Meagher at smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com ACCESS THE LISTS TODAY! Order now at hartfordbusiness.com/datacenter