Hartford, the Event Capital

Tonight I left work at around 5:30pm and was not so shocked to find the streets hustling and bustling with activity. Lately there have been a lot of UCONN games at the XL center, which is half a block from my office and only a 3 minute walk from my apartment. These games and other events at the XL Center always draw huge crowds. This weekend the city was alive with activity thanks, in part, to the Disney Princesses on Ice at the XL Center. Tonight, every restaurant I passed was packed with a wait at the door. This is not typical for a Wednesday night in downtown Hartford. So my question is, how do we continue to develop the city of Hartford as the event capital of Connecticut and of the region? In addition, once we get these patrons downtown for events at the XL Center, how do we keep them here? Sure, there are great restaurants and bars to stop at for a bite/drink before the game or show, but what else do we have? Two major downtown coffee shops, Starbucks and JoJo's, close at 5pm, closing themselves off from potential pre-game/show business and making it very difficult for patrons to get that much needed caffeine jolt (it's also nearly impossible to find a convenience store where would could grab a red bull and some candy/snacks). There's no bookstore where downtown guests could stop to read a magazine or browse while waiting for friends and there's no clothing store where one might pick up a much needed sweatshirt or some UCONN gear. What else can/do people do before these types of events. Once we get patrons downtown, how can we continue to attract them to the city. What other events would draw such large audiences. We know UCONN games have a huge draw, so we should definitely capitalize on that while it's hot. Why not put the team in permanent residency here and build a satellite campus downtown. It would be great if we could get a professional team with a home stadium in Hartford. Also, continuing to develop the music industry in Hartford would be a great plan. Why don't more major acts put Hartford on their tour schedule. Madonna played here in 2005 during her Confessions Tour. The Spice Girls played their reunion tour at the XL Center and drew a full house despite a blizzard. Lady GaGa and Kanye were scheduled to play the XL Center together but that tour got cancelled and now Lady GaGa is scheduled to play at Mohegan and The Oakdale. The XL Center and the city should put a little more effort into bringing these major acts to our capital city, thus fueling industry in area. Also, a grocery store and visibly open retail (including starbucks) would help display Hartford as a lively and livable city.

On a slightly different note, what if retailers, venues, and the city offered a tax break or a discount on tickets with a bus ticket receipt. That might be an incentive to use public transit rather than driving, which would clear the roads a bit, save the environment, and reduce drunk driving a bit....in this case, the buses would certainly need to run later to accommodate event goers...and the system would have to be more understandable.