they could not sell over 11,000 season tickets. After failed negotiations to build a new downtown arena for the Whalers with then-governor John G. Rowland, on March 25, 1997, Karmanos announced that the team would leave. The New York Rangers, looking to capitalize on Hartford as a potential market, placed its farm team there to become the Hartford Wolf Pack starting in 1997. After a short stint as the Connecticut Whale, they reverted to the Wolf Pack moniker in 2013. Current arena and recent renovations In September 2010, the arena was upgraded with a new center-hung scoreboard with four Sony Jumbotrons and a state-of-the-art sound system. The Connecticut State Legislature set aside $35 million in funding for improvements to the XL Center that began in early spring 2014 and completed in time for the start of the 2014–15 seasons of the Wolf Pack and UConn men's hockey in October. Improvements included upgrades to the mechanical system, locker rooms and concourse, replacing jumbotrons with a new HD video board, as well as aesthetic improvements such as a new bar area inside the arena and luxury seating in the lower bowl. A portion of the $35 million allocation went towards a study on the arena's long-term viability; either more major renovations or replacing it with a new facility. Events The XL Center has held many notable events including: The ECAC New England Region tournament, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball tournament organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), took place at the Hartford Civic Center on March 3 and 5, 1977. The tournament champion received an automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 1982 Big East Conference and 1988–1990 America East Conference men's basketball tournaments were also here, as well as occasional games of the UConn Huskies men's basketball team. Rock group the Grateful Dead performed at the arena 18 times, on 5/28/1977, 5/10/1980, 3/14/1981, 4/17/1982, 4/18/1982, 10/14/1983, 10/15/1983, 10/14/1984, 10/15/1984, 4/3/1986, 4/4/1986, 3/26/1987, 3/27/1987, 4/3/1988, 4/4/1988, 4/5/1988, 3/18/1990, and 3/19/1990. The concerts from May 28, 1977, October 14, 1983, March 18, 1990, and March 19, 1990, were released in entirety on the live albums To Terrapin: Hartford '77, Dick's Picks Volume 6, Spring 1990 (The Other One), and Spring 1990 (album). The PBR (Professional Bull Riders) made their first-ever visit to the XL Center for a Built Ford Tough Series