Local investors are in the preliminary stages of planning a $20 million-plus sports and convention center a half-mile from Interstate 84's exit 2 on Danbury's west side. If all goes according to early planning, the complex could open within three years.
The center's arena would have 5,500 fixed theater-style seats for basketball or ice hockey games, with another 500 seats set up on the arena floor for boxing events, and another 1,600 for concerts and other events for a total 7,100 seats. That compares to the 5-year-old, 10,000-seat Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.
[...]
The 7,100-square-foot enclosed building would be designed to support ice hockey, basketball, arena football and soccer teams and games, Haddad said, and can be used for conventions, home shows, auto shows, concerts and even circuses. Initial planning includes a large kitchen to cater meals for up to 1,200 people on the arena floor to fill a need in the city for a large banquet venue; a large family restaurant where patrons will watch televised away games of home teams, a gym and fitness center and maybe a sports apparel store, each of which would be accessible from both the parking lot and the arena.
[...]
Last Tuesday evening the Common Council appointed an ad hoc committee that will hear a presentation by Haddad and Rizzo and draw up a proposal to option the city property, and could report back to the full council in November with a recommendation for a vote.
[...]
The center would be across the street from the 242-room Sheraton Hotel and within a mile of a half-dozen smaller hotels. "We even have a preliminary concept of a shuttle bus network that would stop at the hotels, commuter parking lots and larger complexes and bring them to the rink" to limit the amount of local traffic for events, Haddad said. "We've done an awful lot of work on this."
There are many positives as well as some negatives in terms of building a complex in West Danbury and many things would need to come together in order for this to make this complex a reality.
With this idea still in the early stage, we'll have to wait to see the developer's proposal to the ad-hoc committee and take things from there.
04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
