A couple of months ago, my friend Noe Jimenez and I made our usual trip to Sports Haven, the gigantic off-track betting hall on Long Wharf. For me, Sports Haven carries a similar sense of awe you would get when walking into the Beinecke Library. (What can I say? Cultural significance and historical value come in many forms.) On this particular day, walking inside, we got some hard news: Winners—the leaseholder—would be moving out of 600 Long Wharf Dr., downsizing to a smaller space in East Haven. My first thought was, this building will probably be demolished. It felt like another loss for New Haven’s character, in a time when things are slowly becoming more sterile. It also meant there was only a short window to document Sports Haven’s final days, so I started filming from mid-October through its last day open on Nov. 30. Along the way, I spoke with Tony Falcone, who painted the iconic horse mural; operations manager Scott Symonds; artists Eben and Aude, creators of a DOOM mod video game set inside Sports Haven; Abigail Carlon, Director of Marketing and Communications at Newman Architects, the firm responsible for the iconic building design. And last but not least, I spoke to long-time patrons, the lifeblood of the place, even some who were there from Sports Haven’s opening night in 1979. As online betting becomes more prevalent, the need for a massive, single-purpose hall faded. New Haven has now lost a place where regulars came not just to place bets, but to be social. It is the end of an era. As Brian, one patron, told me: “It’s one of a kind, and if you were never in here you should’ve come—just to see it—even if you didn’t place a bet—because you’ll never see it again.” He’s not wrong. I hope this video stands in for that visit—for anyone who never made it, and for those who want to remember.  Travis Carbonella is an EMMY-nominated (regional EMMY, but still) documentary filmmaker and co-creator of Westville PopUp Cinema. He lives in Westville and works out of Lotta Studio. Gov. Lamont (right) cuts the ribbon on legal sports betting in Sports Haven in October 2021. Credit: Thomas Breen file photo The post Farewell, Sports Haven: A Video Tribute appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less