Storrs Center to receive $4.9M transportation grant

The proposed Storrs Center “downtown” development project will get a major boost this week when U.S. Rep Joe Courtney, D-2nd District expects to announce a $4.9-million grant from the U.S. Federal Transit Authority.

It is expected to help fund proposed efforts to increase access to the development.

“It just opens up all sorts of possibilities” for transportation options, Mansfield Mayor Elizabeth “Betsy” Paterson said about the grant.

The grant will provide funding for an “intermodal hub,” or a central location for buses from the University of Connecticut and the Windham Region Transit District, as well as parking for cars and bicycles.

Paterson said the grant will supplement other funding also slated to improve public transportation – which she said is “almost nonexistent” in the area – and access to Storrs Center.

The roughly $220-million proposed Storrs Center project is planned as a mix of residential development, retail and commercial buildings to be built along Route 195/Storrs Road from Dog Lane to South Eagleville Road.

The project is to be funded by a mix of federal, state, local and private funding.

Mansfield Downtown Partnership Director Cynthia van Zelm said the funding will help support planned improvements to Route 195/Storrs Road.

“We were very pleased, obviously, to receive the grant,” van Zelm said.

UConn spokesman Michael Kirk said the improvements will make it “faster” and “easier” for UConn buses and students “to get in and out” of the center.

Paterson, meanwhile, said Courtney “fought very hard to get this money,” as did U.S. Senators Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

Rep. Courtney – who said the project will increase local business, create new jobs and improve public transportation – understands the value of the proposed Storrs Center, Paterson said.

The grant announcement comes roughly a week after the project received a letter of intent to open from a 10th business.

Insomnia Cookies – a Pennsylvania-based company with 19 other locations – would provide late-night delivery of fresh-baked cookies.

Pomfret-based Vanilla Bean Café, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Storrs Automotive, Wings Over Storrs, Travelplanners, Campus Cuts, Body Language, Tailoring by Tima and Cosimo’s Italian Restaurant have also all submitted letters of intent since May 2009.

Posted July 12, 2010

USA Basketball Women’s National Team takes on world champ Australia at XL Center

[Editor's note: This story as posted originally, incorrectly attributed it as written by a staff member of UConn Athletic Communications. It was submitted by USA Basketball. I apologize for the error. - Brenda Sullivan ]

The USA Basketball Women’s National Team will host Australia and Spain in a pair of exhibition contests at the XL Center in Hartford in a final domestic tune-up prior to the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

USA Basketball and the XL Center made the announcement at a press conference this morning [July 12].

The U.S. will take on defending world champion Australia at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 10 (EDT) and Spain, the No. 5-ranked women’s program in the world, on Sept. 12 at a time still to be determined.

In addition to the USA exhibition games, the University of Hartford will play host to an exhibition between Australia and Spain on 2 p.m. Sept. 11.

Tickets to the XL Center games go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, July 16.

They will be available at www.ticketmaster.com, through Ticketmaster charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and in person at the XL Center box office.

Ticket prices are $75, $50, $30, $20 and $10 – additional fees may apply.

USA vs Australia – again

The U.S. has faced Australia 14 times in exhibition games and official FIBA events over the past decade.

In addition to the USA’s victories over Australia in each of the last three Olympic gold medal games, the U.S. in 2002 defeated Australia 71-56 in the FIBA World Championship semifinal contest, and owns an 8-2 record over Australia in various exhibition games since the turn of the century.

The USA and Spain are less familiar. The teams have played each other just five times since 2000.

The USA topped Spain 90-56 and 94-55 at the 2006 and 2002 FIBA World Championship, respectively and collected a pair of Olympic victories over Spain in 2004 (71-58) and 2008 (93-55), and defeated Spain 77-61 in a 2004 pre-Olympic exhibition game.

Team USA

Members of the 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team are

Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun),

Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun),

Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun),

Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun),

Maya Moore (University of Connecticut),

Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx),

Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx)

Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx)

Alana Beard (Washington Mystics),

Sue Bird (Seattle Storm),

Swin Cash (Seattle Storm),

Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever),

Shameka Christon (Chicago Sky),

Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky),

Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury),

Lindsey Harding (Washington Mystics),

Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream),

Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks),

Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty),

Diana Taurasi  (Phoenix Mercury),

Good warm up

“One of the things you always want to do is to try to play some really good competition leading up to the (FIBA) World Championship,” said 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team and University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma.

“Usually those games are held overseas where we don’t have a lot of fans. It’s fortunate for us that we’re able to get teams of the caliber of Spain and Australia, two of the top five teams in the world, to come to Hartford and play exhibition games,” Auriemma said.

“I think people… in Connecticut especially, appreciate women’s basketball as much, if not more, than any other place in the country. I think those two teams will get a great reception and people will get a chance to see what we’re going to be seeing in the Czech Republic,” he said.

“I’m excited for our team. I’m excited for our fans. I’m excited for the city of Hartford, and I’m really appreciative of the XL Center for working with us to put that together,” Auriemma said.

2010 FIBA World Championship

The USA National Team will assemble on Sept. 3 for its final training (site TBD) prior to departing for Europe to compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The U.S. will look to capture the title at the 2010 FIBA World Championship that will be held Sept. 23 – Oct. 3 in Brno, Karlovy Vary and Ostrava, Czech Republic, with the gold medal winner earning a berth to the 2012 Olympic Games.

Should the U.S. not finish with the gold medal in ’10, it would have two additional chances to qualify for the Olympics:

• the 2011 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament (dates and site TBD)

• the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament (dates and site TBD)

The 12-member 2010 USA World Championship Team will be selected from the USA National Team pool.

The make-up of the USA National Team during its two exhibition contests will be partly dependent upon who is competing in the WNBA playoffs.

Assisting Auriemma and the USA National Team through the 2010 FIBA World Championship are

• DePaul University head coach Doug Bruno,
• Los Angeles Sparks head coach Jennifer Gillom
• Atlanta Dream head coach / general manager Marynell Meadors

Number 1

In the past dozen years, the highly successful USA Basketball Women’s National Team program – ranked No. 1 in the world by FIBA – has posted a 63-1 slate in major international competitions.

The team won -

• four consecutive Olympic gold medals (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008),
• two FIBA World Championship gold medals (1998, 2002),
• one FIBA World Championship bronze medal (2006)
• and one FIBA Americas Championship gold medal (2007)

Soviet team

The FIBA World Championship has been contested essentially every four years since 1953.

The United States captured the first two gold medals before the beginning of the Soviet domination of women’s basketball was kicked-off at the 1959 World Championship.

The former USSR put together a string of five straight golds (1959, 1964, 1967, 1971, 1975), before the United States reclaimed gold in 1979.

The Soviet Union in 1983 earned its final World Championship crown.

The USA went on to capture four of the next five World Championships (1986, 1990, 1998, 2002).

The only other nations to break into the gold medal column at this event are Australia – the defending world champion, and Brazil – which defeated the USA in the 1994 semifinals and went on to take the top spot that year.

Gold Medals

The USA owns a record seven gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals in FIBA World Championship play, while compiling an all-time 88-21 record at the event.

In 2006, the most recent World Championship, the U.S. fell 75-68 to Russia in the semifinals, but rebounded to take host Brazil 99-59 in the bronze medal game and finish with an 8-1 record.

Australia earned the gold after defeating Russia 91-74 in the final contest.

Posted July 12, 2010