Hartford Business Journal

9 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 31 2022 On The Record | Q&A XL Center GM Weiss reflects on ownership change, pandemic, sports betting and future of Hartford events By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com B en Weiss — general manager of the Hartford Wolf Pack, XL Center and Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford — has been places. He started with his current employer — Spectra, now known as Oak View Group after a recent acquisition — 20 years ago, first in Philadelphia working at the Wells Fargo Center, which is home to the NHL's Flyers and NBA's 76ers. He had stops managing arenas in Trenton, New Jersey, and Amherst, Massachusetts, before heading to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was put in charge of a floundering AAA baseball team and stadium. He said he helped restructure the money-losing Memphis Redbirds, which was facing significant financial and attendance issues, before the team was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013. "The bank effectively repossessed the team and stadium and hired us to right-size and correct the organization," Weiss said during a recent virtual interview from his office inside the 16,000-seat XL Center. "It was kind of a turnaround story," He was named Triple-A Baseball Pacific Coast League Executive of the Year in 2012 for his work there. After a stint in Tallahassee, Florida, Weiss arrived in Hartford in 2017 to be closer to family (his wife is from Northampton, Massachusetts). First as assistant general manager and now as GM, Weiss is in charge of arguably two of the most important event venues in Greater Hartford, overseeing everything from marketing, booking, operations and engineering to advertising and ticket sales, PR and event production. And the job hasn't been easy, especially since the pandemic upended the events industry, forcing the XL Center in 2020 to temporarily close for months. The omicron variant has thrown another wrench into the business, forcing event cancellations, but there's hope things will pick up this spring with some big acts. A year ago, fans weren't even allowed in the building, so progress has been made. There has been at least one silver lining: Pratt & Whitney Stadium, the often underutilized and money-losing home of UConn football, may be in the midst of its busiest fiscal year BEN WEISS General Manager Hartford Wolf Pack, XL Center and Pratt & Whitney Stadium Education: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, bachelor's degree in marketing Age: 44 ever in terms of bookings thanks to demand for outdoor events. Weiss spoke to HBJ during a wide- ranging interview about the future of the events and sports industry in Hartford, sports betting and the potential impact of his company's recent ownership change. In November, Philadelphia- based Spectra was acquired by Oak View Group of Los Angeles for an undisclosed sum, creating a powerhouse in the U.S. event venue management industry. Oak View Group runs the 10,000-seat Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport and is involved in venue development and financing. It oversees six venues it owns and developed, according to the Sports Business Journal, including Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena and Long Island's UBS Arena, home to the NHL's New York Islanders franchise. In 2018, Oak View Group landed a more than $100 million investment from private-equity firm Silver Lake. The XL Center, which is owned by the city of Hartford and operated by the Capital Region Development Authority, is in need of a major renovation, but state lawmakers have been unwilling to foot the full bill. Gov. Ned Lamont has said he'd like to bring in a private partner to help with any large-scale project. It's too early to tell if Oak View Group might be that white knight. Here's what the 44-year-old Weiss had to say: Will Oak View Group's purchase of Spectra impact the XL Center and Pratt & Whitney Stadium? I think there will be some impact. Oak View Group has a tremendous relationship in the live event and concert space. Not that we didn't with Spectra, but we were part of a larger organization. Now that we are with Oak View Group we are just solely in the venue management and live sports and entertainment space. Ben Weiss oversees several key Greater Hartford venues, including the XL Center and Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford. He also runs the Hartford Wolf Pack minor league hockey team. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

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