With the pandemic likely forcing UConn to play without fans or in front of limited crowds this upcoming season, the school will opt to not use the XL Center for any men’s basketball, women’s basketball or men’s hockey home games until next fall at the earliest, according to the Hartford Courant.
Economically, it doesn’t make sense for either side to hold games at the arena downtown without unrestricted capacities. UConn pays rent for the building which it hopes to offset with ticket sales while the CRDA, the quasi-public agency that runs the XL Center, needs sizable crowds to make operating the arena financially viable.