The Webster Bank Arena is an outstanding 10,000-seat venue that hosts Sound Tigers hockey, Fairfield University and Sacred Heart sporting events and other attractions. Last December Mohegan Sun, in an effort to stamp a footprint in the state’s largest city with competitor MGM proposing a $675 million waterfront destination in Bridgeport, announced a partnership with the city-owned arena with a promise of concerts and a “commitment to Bridgeport, a city rich in history and culture, to help with the growth and rebirth of the Park City.” So far a hollow promise.
Besides a Connecticut Sun basketball game in May there’s nothing on the event calendar that suggests a partnership between “two of the strongest entertainment venues in the state joining forces. Not one concert planned. For much of the spring and summer, until hockey season returns in the fall, the arena is dark.
Mohegan Sun’s December announcement appears to be nothing more than a flaccid strategic response to MGM which doesn’t appear to be going away in its effort for legislative approval to build a casino destination in the city, whether this session that’s coming to a close, or a longer session next year.
Here’s what they said back in December:
“This is an exciting day as two of the strongest entertainment venues in the state join forces,” said Tom Cantone, Senior Vice President of Sports & Entertainment for Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE). “We have had an open relationship with Webster Bank Arena for years and this agreement is a further extension of the long-term partnership we look forward to having with them.”
Kevin Brown “Red Eagle,” Chairman of the Mohegan Tribe and MGE Management Board said that, “Today’s announcement is more than just a partnership with the Webster Bank Arena. It’s a demonstration of our commitment to bringing tourism to all of Connecticut, not just the southeastern corner. It is a commitment to Bridgeport, a city rich in history and culture, to help with the growth and rebirth of the Park City
“We are thrilled to have a true partnership with the premiere gaming and entertainment facility in Connecticut,” New York Islanders and Bridgeport Sound Tigers Owner Jon Ledecky said. “Mohegan Sun will help secure concerts that will appeal to the local community, as well as become a visible sponsor in our first-class arena. This multi-year agreement is just the beginning of a long-term marriage and is fantastic news for the supporters of the Webster Bank Arena and the City of Bridgeport.”
See full news release here.
Yup, a cut and run announcement.
Bawk, Bawk!!!!
In debt and out-of-touch-that best describes where Connecticut’s General Assembly leaves its citizens. Their pace is too slow, their benefits remain undisturbed and their results put our state at the bottom of any meaningful list.
Don’t blame the Indians.
I would imagine they will get busy as the Amphitheater gets underway. Don’t be so quick to cast a gray cloud. Lot of Downtown projects about to take off. Lets focus on the Comedy Club today and slowly but surely as the new housing fills and Bridgeport becomes a destination you will see concerts. That is what I hope. That is what I expect and I would hope that lots of housing starts happening sooner rather than later. Downtown needs life and lights after dark!!!
Stevie A. will swallow anything, like the Theaters and Main St. North project. Gulp!
Hahahahaha…
How about fully funding our public education?
If the legislature got over its squeamishness about marijuana. It should be legalized for recreational use. If it were legal the opiod epidemic would not be an epidemic.
Jeff Sessions, a southern cracker if there ever was, has no problem with the crimes committed by pillheads raising money to get a fix. Marijuana? “Decent people don’t smoke marijuana” he likes to say. Right Jeff. Decent people don’t allow the pharmaseutical industry to exploit personal injuries to increase the corporate bottom line.
White man speaks with forked tongue, Tom Cantone. I’ll be up there in June to see Kat Williams, but I’d rather just drive to Webster arena which I knew wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Just another huckster trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Bridgeport, but got caught.
Mohegan eat with Two Forks!
I’m under the impression that casino gets the acts they desire, simply because they can pay the most, the casino doesn’t need to turn a profit with the concert itself, it makes money by luring 10,000 people into their building to gamble, eat &drink before & after the show.
That’s how it works, Harvey. The reason Elvis Presley started playing Las Vegas in July 1969 was for the benefit of Colonel Tom Parker, his manager. Parker had amassed seven-figure gambling debts. The international Hotel & Casino paid Elvis $1,000,000.00 a year to perform, a drop in the bucket compared to the revenues generated by the middle Americans that made up The King’s worshippers.
Build a casino in Bridgeport and the local pawn shop industry will explode. Degenerate gamblers will use their credit cards to purchase expensive electronic appliances at Walmart, shuffle back to BPT and pawn them for a fraction of the retail value, ll to get more money to piss away at the craps tables.