You wanted to know who manages Rentschler Field in East Hartford and details on the selection process. You also wanted to know if UConn keeps a record of complaints filed against the management company.

Madison Square Garden CT LLC (MSG) manages Rentschler Field. The secretary of the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) awarded the contract to MSG through a bid process, using a quality-based selection process. OPM issued a Request for Qualifications in November of 1999 and four vendors, including MSG, submitted bids. According to Mike Mehigen, Senior Policy Advisor at OPM, the other bidders were out-of-state businesses and they included Globe Facility Services (Tampa, Florida), SMG (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and Ogden. We have been unable to determine the location of Ogden’s headquarters. Since submitting the bid, another company bought Ogden.

OPM, not UConn, would keep a record of complaints filed against MSG, though to date none have been filed. However, the media was upset after being denied access to the press box during a recent East Hartford high school game, according to Mehigen. The town of East Hartford, not MSG, made this decision. OPM, MSG, and East Hartford’s mayor agreed prior to this particular event that MSG would rent the facility to the town free of charge, but the town would assume all other expenses. The town therefore decided to close the press box to reduce its costs.

KS: ro