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4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 7, 2025 Biz Briefs Tel: (860) 236-9998 | Fax: (860) 570-2493 Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O Box 330 Congers, NY 10920-9894 Subscriptions Annual subscriptions are $132.00. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com, email circulation@ hartfordbusiness.com, or call (845) 267-3008. Advertising For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998. Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103 Stay Connected For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to: www.HartfordBusiness.com HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on Linkedln:www.linkedin.com/company/the-Hart- ford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend: www.hartfordbusiness.com/enewsletters Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published bi-weekly, 27x per year — including two special issues in November and December — by New England Business Media, LLC, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at additional entry points. Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Tom Curtin | President, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MTU Aero Engines' Rocky Hill headquarters. CT operation of German aerospace company expanding in Rocky Hill MTU Aero Engines North America is hiring for new senior positions and says it will be expanding its office footprint in Rocky Hill. The subsidiary of a German-based parent, the Connecticut operation is focused on engine design and research and development for both military and commercial aviation. MTU says it's hiring for three group lead positions in project manage- ment, analytics and product support engineering. It is also advertising senior technical positions in power plant engineering and analytics. MTU employs 250 people in Connecticut. It also says it has secured an additional 10,000 square feet of office space in its existing building at 400 Capital Blvd., to add to the 42,000 square feet it already occupies. MTU says the additional space should be ready this summer. "Our Rocky Hill facility is focused on engineering and design," said Jonathan Leach, president and CEO of MTU Aero Engines North America. "We have been fortunate to find the engineering talent we need here in Connecticut, and we are thrilled to be looking for more." CT economy grew 1.8% in 4Q, ranking 41st in U.S. Connecticut's economic growth slowed during the fourth quarter of 2024 and ranked 41st overall in the U.S., according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Connecticut's economy grew at a 1.8% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, compared to 2.4% growth nationally, BEA data shows. Connecti- cut's economy grew by 3% in the third quarter of last year. For all of 2024, Connecticut's GDP grew 2.6%, which ranked 23rd in the nation. GDP is the market value of goods and services produced by the labor and property located in a state. During the fourth quarter, every New England state except Vermont (0.6%) grew at a faster pace than Connecticut. The finance and insurance sector led fourth-quarter growth in Connecticut, expanding by 0.41%, followed by the real estate and rental Losing bet? Downtown Hartford sports-betting lounge on track to lose money for second year running A sports-betting lounge that opened inside Hartford's XL Center arena in 2023 is on track to lose more than $200,000 by the close of the fiscal year. That's prompting the Capital Region Development Authority to contemplate cost-saving measures that include a reduced schedule. The 5,000-square-foot sports bar and betting venue built on the side of the XL Center facing Ann Uccello Street was part of a $15 million publicly funded package of upgrades to the building. It opened in September 2023, after construction delays and a great deal of anticipation. CRDA Chief Financial Officer Joseph Geremia told the CRDA Board of Directors during its March 20 meeting the venue is on track to lose more than $200,000 by the close of fiscal 2025. That's less than the roughly $500,000 it lost in fiscal 2024, but board members were still disappointed. "That's not a good business," said Andy F. Bessette, a CRDA board member, who is executive vice president and chief administrative officer of property and casualty insurer The Travelers Cos. "If that was any of our companies, we would not continue to run this busi- ness. So, what are we doing?" Geremia told the board the sports lounge will move to shorter hours as the NCAA college basketball tournament wraps up. The CRDA is also scheduled to discuss additional operational changes with the Connecticut Lottery Corp. to further rein-in costs. The sports-betting lounge at the XL Center in Hartford. and leasing sectors (0.4% growth) and the scientific and technical services sector, which grew by 0.32%. The information sector saw the biggest contraction in Connecticut at -0.17%, followed by state and local governments and the company management sectors, which both contracted by 0.11%, BEA data shows. UConn grants athletics director authority to sign endorsement contracts, revenue-sharing agreements with student-athletes UConn's Board of Trustees has approved a resolution that sets the stage for the school to begin paying student-athletes starting this year. The board in late March approved the resolution, which gives the athletics director the authority to PHOTO | UCONN ATHLETICS HBJ FILE PHOTO UConn star Alex Karaban celebrates during a game against Butler in January. sign all endorsement contracts and revenue-sharing agreements with student-athletes, without prior board approval. At the end of each year, the athletic director will report to the board on the annual budget for all endorsement contracts and revenue-sharing agreements. Beginning this spring, UConn's Editorial Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139 gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Drew Larson | Web Editor, ext. 121 alarson@hartfordbusiness.com Beat: Energy Michael Puffer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Real Estate, Economic Development, Banking & Finance David Krechevsky | Staff Writer, ext. 702 davidk@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Health Care, Bioscience Harriet Jones | Staff Writer, ext. 145 hjones@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Manufacturing, Cannabis, Professional Services Michael Juliano | Staff Writer mjuliano@hartfordbusiness.com Beat: Fairfield County Stephanie R. Meagher | Research Director Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer Business Tom Curtin | Publisher, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Jessica M. 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