- Rentschler Field
Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Rentschler Field
location = 615 Silver Lane
East Hartford, CT 06118
coordinates = coord|41|45|34|N|72|37|7|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title
broke_ground = 2000
opened =August 30 ,2003
closed =
demolished =
owner = State of Connecticut
operator =Anschutz Entertainment Group
surface = Kentucky Bluegrass
construction_cost = $91.2 million
architect =Ellerbe Becket
former_names =
tenants = UConn Huskies (NCAA)2003-Present)
Hartford team (UFL) 2009-
seating_capacity = 40,000Rentschler Field is a
stadium inEast Hartford, Connecticut . It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of theUniversity of Connecticut Huskies. The stadium, which opened in 2003, was the first stadium used primarily by an NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) team to open in the 21st century. It holds 40,000 people and can be expanded. Connecticut played on campus at Memorial Stadium in Storrs, before 2003.Rentschler Field was originally the name of the company airfield for
Pratt & Whitney that formerly occupied the site. The airfield, which began operations in 1931, was named afterFrederick Brant Rentschler , who founded the aircraft arm of Pratt & Whitney and later founded its current parent company,United Technologies . It was originally used for test flights and maintenance operations, and later for corporate aviation. The 75acre (304,000 m²) site was decommissioned as an airport in the 1990s, and donated to the state ofConnecticut by United Technologies in 1999. The company's contributions were not restricted to the airfield; it also allows the use of 100 acres (405,000 m²) of its corporate campus in East Hartford for game-day parking.The
New England Patriots considered moving to Connecticut and sharing a stadium with the UConn football team, in the mid 1990s. The new stadium was supposed to be built on the Connecticut Convention Center site in downtownHartford . However, when the Patriots completed the deal forGillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, the Hartford stadium plan was scaled down and the location was moved toEast Hartford .The stadium hosts major concerts (such as
Bruce Springsteen , the first artist to play the stadium, in 2003,The Rolling Stones in 2005 andThe Police in 2007), and international soccer andrugby union matches. In addition, theBollywood movieKabhi Alvida Naa Kehna used the field as the location of the soccer game in the opening scene of the movie. It is owned by the state of Connecticut and is operated byAnschutz Entertainment Group , which replacedMadison Square Garden, L.P. as operators for the 2007 season.External links
* [http://www.rentschlerfield.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/MFootball/2005/MediaGuide/10/Rentschler.pdf Profile from official UConn athletics site (PDF)]
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