Forgotten NHL Arenas : The Hartford Civic Center

It's been 15 long years since the Hartford Civic Center was an NHL arena. After the Hartford Whalers relocated to Raleigh, the Civic Center has since been named the XL Center. Hockey is still being played there. The Hartford Wolf Pack, an AHL franchise, have been playing at the XL Center since the Whalers vacancy. Recently, the franchise was renamed the Connecticut Whale in honor of Hartford's former NHL franchise.
There have been rumors of the Whalers returning to Hartford, more specifically when the Pittsburgh Penguins were looking for a new arena to be built. However, doing so would be a poor idea only because the Whalers would still be stuck geographically between the New York and Boston markets. Finding a home for the Whalers is the biggest concern as the XL Center has been considered inadequate by NHL standards. The arena holds slightly more than 15,000; the same size of the MTS Centre, the smallest NHL arena.
The XL Center's lease with the city of Hartford will end next year. The city feels that a new arena will help attract new acts and possibly another professional sports franchise. More events would be great towards increasing profits for the city via tourism. There is currently a proposal for renovations to the facility in excess of 105 million dollars, an effort to attract a struggling NHL franchise like the Phoenix Coyotes in coming years.
The former NHL arena was known for it's great sight lines. Though the franchise had much more success in the World Hockey Association, the city of Hartford was a very loyal fan base, averaging close to 14,000 people per game during some seasons. The Whalers never made a Stanley Cup appearance and had only one playoff series victory. The franchise's most heated rivals were the nearby Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers; two of the original six. Games between these two teams were often sell-outs due to the proximity to both cities.
Whalers owner Peter Karmanos grew upset with the lack of corporate sponsorship for the team as well as the lack of season ticket packages sold per season. However, Karmanos only offered packages for the full season (41 games). Connecticut's Governor at the time was adamant about not using public dollars to fund a new arena for the Whalers. Why would a new NHL arena make sense when the attendance for Whalers games has been below average? Karmanos was also insisting that he receive assistance for revenue losses until the new venue was completed.
The final NHL game in Hartford was played on April 13th, 1997 when the Whalers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning. When and if the Whalers ever return to the city of Hartford  depends solely upon the completion of an extensive renovation of the XL Center or a brand new arena. There are many other cities with the same plans for a new NHL arena including Seattle, Quebec, Hamilton and Las Vegas. That's plenty of competition for an NHL franchise. For now, let's pay tribute to the only professional franchise to ever occupy the state of Connecticut; the Whalers.

 NHL Arenas