Parting words hung on Coliseum
Joseph Straw, Register Staff December 31, 2002
NEW HAVEN — If the fat lady is singing, not everyone’s listening.
That much was clear to anyone who drove by the Veterans Memorial Coliseum early Monday.
A handcrafted banner hung from the arena’s parking lot superstructure that read "GAME NOT OVER!" facing Route 34, next to the building’s massive visage of a hockey player.
An expression of spirit? A threat? Whether the public can expect to see hockey fans chained to the building, staring down the wrecking ball, was unclear Monday.
The 30-year-old venue closes completely at 2 a.m. Wednesday, when its garage — still open to the commuting public — shuts down. The last event was held at the facility’s 9,000-seat arena in August.
The banner was removed by facility staff Monday morning.
"I look up, it was there one minute, and a couple hours later it was gone," said Bob Muttitt of East Haven, a hockey fan who works downtown.
"It looked like a professional job. I’m sorry it didn’t stay up there," Muttitt said.
The police aren’t concerning themselves with this exercise in free speech, but if they were, their "pool of suspects" would likely be the cult of outspoken but nameless hockey fans who refuse to accept City Hall’s condemnation of the building.
Some city academics have decried plans to tear down such a glowing example of 1960s "brutalist" architecture.
But the bookish types have stopped short of circulating handwritten fliers about the matter, posting small "Save the Coliseum" signs around town, or handing out hockey pucks bearing a picture of Mayor John DeStefano Jr., along with an impolite play on the word "puck."
The arena was home to the New Haven Nighthawks hockey club from 1972 to 1993, the Beast of New Haven from 1997 to 1999, and the New Haven Knights for the past two years.
The area’s die-hard hockey fans — for whom the Coliseum’s notorious Section 14 was the center of the known universe — remain in touch and attend games together at other venues such as Bridgeport’s Arena at Harbor Yard.
The fans maintain a Web site called "Section 14 Online," located at www.newhavenhockey.8k.com. There they share reminiscences of games at the Coliseum, as well as ideas on how to lobby "legally" for the arena’s salvation, such as through aggressive letter writing.
There’s no mention on the site of flyers, signage, or pucking.
No one stepped forward Monday to claim responsibility — or credit — for hanging the banner.
Web site designer Drew Carrano, who lists his home address as "Section 14, row 3, seat 7," said he had no idea who hung the banner.
"I kind of wish I did know who did it so I can shake their hand," Carrano said.
City Hall spokesman James Foye said that Mayor John DeStefano Jr. learned of the banner early Monday and took a drive around the arena for a look.
Upon his return to his office, DeStefano inquired politely as to whether the sign would remain, but said no more, Foye said.
"It wasn’t something we were all up in arms about," Foye said.
The Coliseum is owned by the city and administered by the Coliseum Authority.
The city, which faces two straight years of tax increases and likely layoffs amid cuts in state aid and a stagnant tax base, announced its plans mid-year to close and demolish the building.
The arena was losing fans, events, and hundreds of thousands of dollars to the handful of newer arenas popping up around the state.
Anthony Bialecki, a City Hall economic development official in charge of the arena’s closure, said that the city will solicit bids early in the new year for demolition. When cost is determined, the city is expected to turn to the state to fund the job, which could cost close to $10 million.
The Coliseum site, which straddles South Orange Street, may be used to house a new hotel and conference center, or a relocated Long Wharf Theatre, city officials said.
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Joseph Straw can be reached at jstraw@nhregister.com or at 789-5714.
©New Haven Register 2002