This was a few months back now, a night at Mohegan Sun Arena. And there is yours truly standing and singing (hollering?) along to “Saturday In The Park” and “September” at the Chicago/Earth Wind & Fire concert. A thrill to see them live. Ballo for dinner before, great conversation and company, fun night.

Now you ask: Why is he telling us this?

This is why: Because anecdotal evidence is the best way to illuminate the ever subjective and abstract concept of quality of life. I’d circled the date for that night, illustrating the importance of looking forward to something, whether it’s the game or the concert. It’s a night out.

Quality of life.

You get the idea.

Perhaps Gov. Malloy should have considered a little such humanity when proposing his recent $250 million upgrade to the XL Center in Hartford. No, really. The XL Center, the downtown arena, the indoor village green, benefits us all in quality-of-life ways. It’s not merely a sports arena. It’s there for concerts and family entertainment, too, all those circle-the-day-on-the-calendar” events that help sustain us from the humdrum.

Instead, Malloy urges us the XL Center needs an overhaul because maybe, possibly, one day, the New York Islanders or some other National Hockey League franchise wants to come to Hartford.

(Sigh.)

There is no bigger advocate for the necessity of the XL Center’s future than the person typing this. But even I gagged at this Islanders thing. Note to the governor: This is a hard enough sell to taxpayers and legislators. Did you think they’re all going to have a Come-To-Jesus moment at the thought of maybe, possibly the NHL coming when the state has no money?

Make no mistake. The XL Center has a finite amount of time left in its current state. Mike Freimuth, who runs the Capital Regional Development Authority, the entity that oversees the XL Center, is a straight shooter. He has said many times that the XL Center will go the way of the old New Haven Coliseum — a parking lot  — if the repairs aren’t made.

“Long term, we'd like to take the building to a different level. Honestly, if we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to struggle over the next three-four-five years and in my mind, that brings up the New Haven (Coliseum) question," Freimuth said once about the building.

"It's 45 years old. It'll never have enough bathrooms or concessions. It has to be torn apart and put back together. Big nickel. You're looking at a quarter billion. That's a 'b' as in billion. At a time when the state and everyone else has problems that are paramount. It's hard to sell this.”

Especially when the governor obsesses about pipe dream professional hockey over UConn, concerts and other family entertainment, which are sure to move the needle more with Joe Average Taxpayer.

“The types of suites, concessions, video boards. Everything that makes a nickel has to be re-geared,” Freimuth said.

The CRDA oversaw a recent $35 million investment to keep the XL Center afloat. It worked. But it’s a bandage.

"It was to buy time," Freimuth said, "so we could do what we needed to do to keep the building alive, pick up revenue streams and give the fans the ability to say 'hey this building can have a second life.”

Example: the new “Fanclub,” a bar/lounge area on the concourse complete with food and drink options, has been a success. Fans can watch the game live or on several television monitors. It’s open to everyone with a ticket for no additional charge. Translation: It’s there for the people. All the people.

“Previously, we had two concession stands there,” Freimuth said. “They performed so poorly that we did not even open them except for full houses. Today, the Fanclub performs at a multiple of four times the previous revenue from that area and shows us that we can earn more dollars in the building.

“It also shows that people are willing to purchase and actually talk it up and that there’s a strategy to transform the building that'll work.”

Once again, I get this is a hard sell. I’m ready for all the social commentators to emerge from their caverns and harrumph about warped priorities. Blah, blah, blah. All I’m saying is that the XL Center is the centerpiece of downtown Hartford. The Granddaddy. It serves a purpose that goes beyond sustaining all the surrounding bars and restaurants. It’s part of the fabric.

I was in my son’s Kindergarten class Wednesday. The lesson for the kids: Think about all the important buildings that belong in a city. The kids chimed in with “police station,” “firehouse,” “school” and the like. And then one said, “Mohegan Sun!”

Out of the mouths of children.

We all need places to have fun. To sing along to Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire. That’s the XL Center to a good part of the state. It needs repair. But not for the Islanders. For us.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro