If the starting point for kicking the metaphorical can down the road on all matters XL Center actually began at the XL Center, the can would be somewhere around Baltimore by now.

Recent developments suggest that UConn isn't all that enamored anymore with playing games downtown. State U has budget concerns within athletics that call into question whether five-digit rent figures for every basketball and hockey game are feasible. And so if lawmakers show no urgency for a crumbling building and Gampel Pavilion (at least for basketball) is a preferred option, why is UConn beholden to downtown Hartford any longer?

What began some years ago at $250 million to renovate the building has been downsized to a taxpayer-funded $100 million (although that could be rising), lessened mostly through what Mike Freimuth, the head of the Capital Region Development Authority, calls a "lower bowl strategy." It is designed to "shrink" the XL to 11,000 seats for certain events, while also preserving the upper bowl capacity to reach 16,000 by using a special walling system.

I asked Freimuth, a good guy and straight shooter, about the status of plans to rebuild the old barn, which have progressed with the speed of an arthritic snail to date.

"Status quo," Freimuth said. "COVID certainly set it back, both operationally as well as within the larger political debate. We do have plans to take on several large efforts this year including building out the sports bar/sports betting facility, replace the 'pull out' seating systems (the retractable extensions of seating that pull out to meet the basketball floor), and improve/enlarge the locker room areas."

Freimuth said CRDA and the Oak View Group, an entertainment management, operating and investing group, are talking about a potential partnership. OVG recently merged with Spectra, the existing management group for the XL Center and Rentschler Field. It made major investments in Seattle for the new arena and National Hockey League team.

"We're talking with them to see if they would be interested in making an investment in Hartford and the XL, partnered with the state and city as they have in similar sized markets," Freimuth said, alluding to OVG's work for arenas in Baltimore and Hamilton, Ont.

It sounds promising, sure. But it also sounds a lot like the foibles of Route 11, the useless 8.5-mile highway from Colchester to Salem whose construction stopped in 1979 several miles from the shoreline. Despite a number of promises, assurances and agreements, Route 11 became Lucy yanking the football from Charlie Brown.

If the same applies to the XL Center, now might be the time to scrap the entire project. UConn athletics have a $47 million deficit. Freimuth said rent for men's and women's basketball is $40,500 per game plus $3 for every ticket sold. Hockey pays $20,500 per game plus $2 for every ticket sold, although UConn receives an incentive fee once an annual attendance threshold is met for each team.

UConn's participation in playing games over the years at the XL Center has come mostly through unwritten rules. It keeps the downtown business owners happy and is politically astute. Good relations between UConn and lawmakers means favorable appropriations.

In the old days, UConn has about 6,000 good reasons — the difference in seating capacity — to play its games downtown. The revenue the XL Center produced with the 16,294 sellout figure dwarfed the 10,167 at Gampel — and remember, about 20 percent of Gampel is discounted student tickets.

UConn doesn't fill the XL Center routinely anymore. Is there an incentive to fork over $40K in rent to play in a decaying building that the coaches and fans believe offers less of a home court advantage?

"A lot of people tell you they love going to the XL Center and only get tickets for the XL Center, because they don't want to go to Storrs," women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma told reporters recently. "I get that. So you have to play X number of games at the XL Center. Do I like going down there? No, I hate it. I'd rather play every game at Gampel, to be honest with you."

Then there's this: If the building is renovated with more amenities, would UConn's rent actually go up?

"If we're able to fully renovate the building, the idea is to restructure the basic UConn/XL deal," Freimuth said. "That effectively creates increased revenues for UConn from premium, club and new floor level suite revenues that also impact donations and sponsorships as well as bigger upside from improved concessions."

Bottom line: We've reached the XL Center's tipping point. There is no sense in using Band-Aids on all the hemorrhaging. Either fix this now or send UConn to Gampel permanently.

"The building operates at a loss (pre-COVID) of roughly $2 million annually," Freimuth said. "The state allocates between $600-800K towards this. The rest is covered by parking revenues at the attached Church St. garage generated by XL events.

"However, the building does not get credit for the nearly $2 million it generates in taxes to the state coffers. The state earns annually $2 million and appropriates $600-800K, so the XL is contributing about $1.4 million to the state budget that could cover its operating costs."

Freimuth said there are ways to improve the building's annual operating costs, namely to enhance revenue generation (more clubs, more luxury seats, better concessions, even sports betting) and lowering inefficiencies generated by 40-year-old heating and cooling systems, thus lowering constant repair exposures and high utility bills.

"But the building cannot carry the capital cost of 40 years of deferred maintenance and growing industry demands like I.T. capacity, and security systems," Freimuth said. "So we struggle along. The General Assembly allocated $65 million in bonding, but the money has not made it to the bond commission."

Downtown Hartford's success relies on such things as business travel, theater and XL Center events. Hence, the old barn really needs renovation. But if the can kicking goes on for much longer, UConn's finances alone give it reason to leave. It's time, politicos. Make a decision.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro