Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 28, 2025 19 FOCUS | MEE TINGS & CONVENTIONS has a financial stake in their success. Costelli is also interested in branching out into the concert busi- ness. He says the Convention Center could offer a space to seat around 1,200 to 2,500 patrons. That would make it appropriate for acts that need somewhere smaller than the PeoplesBank Arena, but bigger than the Infinity Music Hall on Front Street, which seats around 650. Meanwhile, the sheer cost of running a massive building like the Convention Center has forced the management team to get creative with event bookings. "If we get three small events on three different days, it costs more to do it than if we put three small events in the building on one day," Freimuth said. "So, you might see the same number of events, but less days open." The shift toward more day-trippers and fewer overnight visitors has also altered the Convention Center's value proposition for the city and state. "You have less impact in the neighborhoods and in the streets," Freimuth said. "You come in, you do your business and go home as opposed to coming and staying in the evening, maybe visiting a theater or going to a game or taking in a restaurant. It changes the way you earn off of the building." 'Million-dollar exercise' Another challenge is the building's age, and the cost of maintenance and renovations. CRDA has around $5 million in its budget for each of the next two years to carry out necessary upgrades to the building, but Freimuth says a lot of that goes into the basic mechanical or electronic systems that keep the facility going. "I mean, recarpeting this building is a million-dollar exercise," he said. Event planners considering the venue also look for modern amenities for their attendees, such as state-of- the-art communications technology. "They expect your building to have these features," Freimuth said. Above all, Freimuth doesn't want the Convention Center to fall into the same trap that has plagued the PeoplesBank Arena, where years of deferred mainte- nance led to a renovation bill of more than $100 million, a lengthy closure that began this year, and even an existential debate about its future. "We don't want to make that same mistake twice with the Convention Center," he said. Robert Murdock is the president of CTMEETINGS. HBJ File Photo On chopping block, CT Convention and Sports Bureau gets $1M state budget lifeline By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com T he Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau, otherwise known as CTMEETINGS, was saved from the budget axe in June when state lawmakers passed a two-year, $55.8 billion spending plan. Previously funded out of the Office of Tourism, it emerged from the legislative process with its own line item in the state budget, and will be funded with $500,000 in each of the next two fiscal years. There were concerns that Gov. Ned Lamont's initial budget proposal cut tourism funding in a way that threat- ened the bureau's future. "We became an advocacy group all of a sudden," said President Bob Murdock of his successful lobbying effort. "Most people just didn't know what we do." The four-person group works with event planners to pitch Connecticut venues for everything from sports tournaments and business conven- tions to weddings. The bureau said it helps attract up to 260 new events to Connecticut each year, resulting in a $72 million economic impact in 2024 alone. In addition to state funding, the bureau raises about $200,000 in private contributions annually — a figure Murdock says he hopes to grow. While he markets venues all around the state, Murdock echoes the call for Hartford to cultivate more hotel spaces to help sell the city to visitors, and says he'll continue to work closely with the Connecticut Convention Center to bring business to the capital. He'd also like the state to establish a fund that offers incentives to help attract major events. "That's one thing we're lacking," he said. " That puts us at a disadvantage compared to a Providence or a Boston; they do have those funds, where we don't." Another thing that Murdock says is very much part of his future plans — he'll stay in touch at the Capitol, talking to legislators about the organization's work. "We found some friends that we didn't know we had," he said. *The Convention Center was closed in fiscal 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Source: Capital Region Development Authority annual reports 500K 400K 300K 200K 100K 0 2018 2019 2020 2021* 2022 2023 2024 CT CONVENTION CENTER ATTENDANCE NO. OF ATTENDEES NO. OF EVENTS 161 167 105 0 71 108 131

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