Connecticut Athletic Facilities

Rentschler Field (Silver Lane, East Hartford, Conn.)

Rentschler Field Information, Directions and Seating Chart

Some college football teams play in stadiums that put fans so close to the action that the spectators feel like they can reach out and touch the players. These stadiums are intimate and are part of what has made college football special.

Other stadiums are ultra-modern edifices that feature the latest in facilities such as luxurious suites and spacious locker rooms.

The home of University of Connecticut football, Rentschler Field, happens to be both. The stadium is the newest and most modern college football stadium in the country.

Rentschler Field, located in East Hartford, opened on Aug. 30, 2003, as the Huskies defeated Big Ten Conference member Indiana, 34-10.

UConn has now played 19 games in the facility over the past three seasons and has posted an impressive 15-4 record at Rentschler Field. The six home wins there in 2004 set a UConn single-season record.

The Huskies played before sellouts crowds in all six of their home games in 2005 with the Syracuse game televised live nationally by ESPN and the South Florida game marked UConn’s first appearance on ABC Television.

The 2004 football season at Rentschler Field saw the Huskies play before sold out crowds of 40,000 in six of seven games with two of those contests televised nationally before a primetime audience.

UConn sold 24,000 season tickets for football at Rentschler Field for the 2004 season and finished the season ranked 26th in the nation ­ and first in the BIG EAST ‹ in attendance based on percentage of capacity.

The facility is the result of incredible teamwork and dedication between the state¹s Office of Policy and Management, the town of East Hartford, United Technologies Corporation and the assistance from numerous public and private sector organizations. The result of this cooperation gives the people of Connecticut the opportunity to view college football at its highest level in a world-class facility.

The natural grass playing surface of Rentschler Field is 26 feet below grade at the stadium, which features stadium seating, outdoor chairback seating, fully enclosed club seats and luxury suites.

The tower at Rentschler Field includes levels for suites, club seating and media/game management facilities.

There are 38 suites in the stadium and more than 600 seats in the club area, which also includes a 12,000-square foot function area, which is used by club patrons on gameday and is available for meetings and social events the remainder of the year.

The outdoor seating area of Rentschler Field includes nearly 4,000 chairback seats with the rest being bleacher seating. Rentschler Field is unique in the fact that it has handicap accessible seating on the field level.

The media facilities are some of the most modern in the country with seating for 125 media members in the main press area. There are also separate booths for television and radio broadcasts. That level also includes booths for coaching staffs, security, public address announcer, scoreboard operation and other gameday facilities.

The concourses at Rentschler Field provide generous, open and barrier-free circulation for entering and exiting the facility. The concourse also provides easy access to various concession and novelty stands and restrooms.

The new stadium features state-of-the-art facilities for members of the UConn football team, including an incredible locker room area.

The main UConn locker room is 3,750 square feet and has space for 125 players. There is also a coaches locker room, equipment area and medical training rooms.

There is also a spacious visiting team locker room area with similar amenities.

The audio and video facilities at Rentschler Field are some of the most advanced in the country. The sound system is de-centralized with approximately 300 digital-quality speakers providing the audio.

The west end of the stadium features a scoreboard that has a 24-foot by 32-foot video replay screen.

All parking for the stadium is located within the footprint of the stadium site ­ which makes it unique for a college football facility. In total, there are 10,600 parking spaces at the Rentschler Field site.

Rentschler Field features lighting with four towers in each corner of the stadium and a bank of lights on top of the press box.

Rentschler Field is a facility built for Connecticut, by Connecticut. Through a concerted effort, the stadium project far outpaced the state¹s requirements to help small, women and minority-owned companies grow with ongoing economic development. This means contractors and individuals that may never before have been able to benefit from projects of this scale helped build their skills, their companies and their careers while they help build their community.

The various East Hartford area non-profit groups that staffed the concession stands on game days are able to generate approximately $65,000 on an annual basis through their work at the games.

Rentschler Field is also the home of the Connecticut High School Coaches Hall of Fame, which is located on the southwest concourse.

The stadium was developed by the State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. The facility was designed by the architectural firm Ellerbe Becket and the construction manager was Hunt/Gilbane joint venture. The primary tenant at Rentschler Field, which is managed by Madison Square Garden, is the UConn football program.

In addition to UConn football, the stadium also played host to a pair of Bruce Springsteen concerts on Sept. 16 and 18, 2003 and a concert by the Rolling Stones on August 26, 2005. It also serves as the home of the annual Governors¹ Cup High School All-Star game between Connecticut and Rhode Island.

International rugby matches have been played at Rentschler Field the past two summers and the facility is becoming a mainstay in soccer. An exhibition soccer game between the British teams of Liverpool and Glasgow Celtic was played on July 26, 2004; an exhibition women¹s soccer match between the United States and China on Aug. 1, 2004; and a men¹s World Cup qualifying match between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago was played on Aug. 17, 2005.

Rentschler Field is an important part of the broad economic development program that is now under way in the Hartford area. That strategy includes the Adriaen’s Landing Development, an expansion of Bradley International Airport, riverfront development in both Hartford and East Hartford and a revitalization project of the Hartford Civic Center ‹ the off-campus home of UConn men¹s and women¹s basketball. The new stadium adds to an array of top-shelf amenities located in the Hartford area.

UConn received the Governor’s Leadership Award in December of 2003 for its efforts in the first year of play at Rentschler Field. The annual award is given to an individual or group that had done an outstanding job in bringing together a wide spectrum of people and resources to bear on a significant development issue in Connecticut. UConn was cited for working hard to assure that Rentschler Field was a significant economic resource for the greater Hartford region and a point of pride for the high quality of life in the area that business leaders seek.

The 75-acre site for the stadium was donated by United Technologies and sits on a former airfield ‹ Rentschler Field ‹ which opened in 1931 and saw the likes of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. In addition to the donation of the land for the stadium, UTC is allowing another 100 acres of its land to be used for gameday parking.

There is a display on the history of the site as an airfield in the stadium.

The “original” Rentschler Field was dedicated on May 24, 1931. The company air field served as a base for experimental flight tests of airplanes, engines and propellers and was also used for servicing and overhauling engines. In later years the airfield was used for general aviation for United Aircraft Corporation ‹ now United Technologies Corporation. The field was de-commissioned as an active airport in the 1990s.

Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (Hillside Road, Storrs campus)

Directions to the Storrs Campus
Gampel Pavilion Seating Chart

Connecticut Men and Women's Basketball on-campus home arena is the sparkling and spacious Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, a state-of-the-art domed facility which serves all the needs of the UConn basketball teams.

The Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, opened in January of 1990, totals more than 171,000 square feet in the domed area of the entire UConn Sports Center Complex, while an additional 39,000 square feet comprise the attached Wolff-Zackin Natatorium (including a 50-meter Olympic size swimming pool).

The entire UConn Sports Center Complex was a $28 million project and measures 320 feet in diameter in the circular domed arena area. The brilliant aluminum dome of the Gampel Pavilion towers more than 130 feet in the air from ground level.

During the summer of 1996, the original capacity of Gampel Pavilion (8,241) was increased with additional seating placed above each of the four entrance quadrants of the building. The new 'sellout' for Connecticut Basketball in Storrs is 10,027, making the UConn facility the largest capacity on- campus basketball arena in New England and the Northeast.

The Harry A. Gampel Pavilion now provides the Connecticut Basketball programs with one of the finest on- campus team settings in the entire nation. In addition to dominating the Storrs campus scenery, Gampel Pavilion is always an 'advance sellout' when UConn Basketball plays before the home crowd.

Prior to the start of the 1999-2000 season, two new state-of-the-art scoreboards were installed in Gampel Pavilion. Both boards contain complete player lineup information (points, fouls) as well as a full color game video boards and message centers. The 'Alumni Court' main arena floor is constructed with the latest version of 'spring aire' wood. The Connecticut basketball program is totally housed in the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.

The Huskies' team rooms includes a spacious varsity locker room with wood grain 'pro style' individual lockers as well as an adjoining varsity team lounge and audio-visual area, complete with large screen television, satellite dish hook-up for scouting and game review, and a stereo sound system. The Connecticut Basketball coaching staffs are comfortable housed in a suite of individual offices adjacent to the team room area and directly off the main arena floor. Also included on the arena level of the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a unique strength, conditioning, and weight training area for both UConn's basketball teams.

Rounding out the arena level of the Gampel Pavilion are individual areas for Connecticut's Division of Athletics Sports Medicine and Athletic Performance staff, headed by Dr. Jeffrey Anderson. In addition to being personally based in Gampel Pavilion, Dr. Anderson's office is directly adjacent to the spacious athletics medical training facility. That area houses UConn's athletic trainers and physical therapists.

XL Center (Hartford, CT)

Directions to the XL Center
XL Center Seating Chart

Since January of 1976, the XL Center (formerly the Hartford Civic Center) has been the 'second home' for the University of Connecticut men's basketball program, and has also become a 'home away from home' for the women's basketball program since 1980.

Northland AEG announced in December of 2007 an agreement with XL Insurance renaming the Hartford Civic Center, the XL Center. Under the terms of the multi-year, seven figure agreement, XL Insurance receives exclusive naming rights to Connecticut’s largest indoor sports and entertainment facility including logo changes on both the basketball and hockey playing surfaces, tickets, uniforms and stationery; a retrofit of both indoor and outdoor signage; and new atrium graphics. Additionally, a new website www.xlcenter.com will be launched, and all event and facility marketing will feature the XL Center logo. XL Insurance has a long history in Hartford and maintains its office in the city as a strategically central location in the Northeast to conduct worldwide business and access a talented, educated workforce.

Located in the heart of downtown Hartford, the basketball facility is not only the second home of the UConn basketball programs, but also serves as the home ice for the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

In addition to regular season UConn basketball, the spacious XL Center was home to the annual Connecticut Mutual Classic from 1980-92. The University of Connecticut and the XL Center have jointly hosted five NCAA Championship East Regional First/Second Round Tournaments (1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998). The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) has stopped in Hartford for games in 1981, 1988, and 1989. The 1982 BIG EAST Conference Tournament was played in Hartford and both the 1989 and 1991 ACC/BIG EAST Challenge Series used Hartford as one of its sites. Most recently, the XL Center has been home to the  BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament and is committed to the building on a long-term basis. In 2004, the NCAA Eastern Regional for women's basketball was played there.

Joseph J. Morrone Stadium (Hillside Road, Storrs campus)

Directions to the Storrs Campus

College soccer and lacrosse devotees and the media consider the Joseph J. Morrone Stadium to be one of the finest collegiate complexes in the nation. In 1994, Soccer America Magazine voted the former Connecticut Soccer Stadium one of the TOP FIVE "Best Soccer Atmospheres" in the nation, with its large, vocal crowds, and bleacher seating which completely surrounds the playing field.

The Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, with its seating capacity of 8,574 and a natural grass-playing surface, is one of the finest college facilities in the nation. The natural grass-playing surface measures 75 by 120 yards.

The Joseph J. Morrone Stadium has undergone major improvements over the past four years. This new-look facility has been funded by both state monies and by private contributions through the UConn Friends of Soccer support organization.

These enhancements include: a state-of-the-art scoreboard and message center; new aluminum bleachers; replacement of the natural grass surface, with new grass and an irrigation and automatic watering system installed; and one of the top press boxes in the country, with accommodations for over 20 media outlets.

The fully enclosed and heated aluminum-sided press box measures 120 feet. It includes a 60-foot midsection for working media, rooms for television and home and visiting radio, an enclosed upper camera deck, and special hospitality areas for guests. Additionally, television monitors are positioned throughout the press box for viewing the game action below.

Wolff-Zackin Natatorium (Hillside Road, Storrs campus)

Directions to the Storrs Campus

The home of the University of Connecticut men and women's swimming and diving programs is the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium. The 39,000-square foot natatorium provides one of the finest facilities in the East. Connecticut's men's and women's swim teams are the only varsity programs housed in the Natatorium.

The Natatorium is part of UConn's $28 million Sports Center Complex, which also includes the 171,000-square foot Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, housing Connecticut's men's and women's basketball programs.

The Wolff-Zackin Natatorium features several high-tech innovations that make the pool one of the fastest in the region. The facility is a 50-meter 'stretch pool' that includes two movable bulkheads, allowing the pool to assume several different configurations.

The standard collegiate length of 25 yards can be used in an all-deep-water course in the Wolff-Zackin pool, featuring eight- foot wide lanes, and a flow-through bulkhead. A second bulkhead provides an enclosed warm-up, warm-diving area while also allowing for a separate diving area. The diving area includes two one-meter and two three-meter maxiflex springboards on Dura firm standards.

Some of the other features of the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium include a state-of-the-art Colorado Electronic Timing System IV, men's and women's team record boards, a videotape re- play system, and an underwater viewing window.

In addition, there are individual coaches' offices, men's and women's varsity locker rooms, and visiting team locker rooms. The spectator area can accommodate 800 Husky fans.

Adjacent to the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium is UConn's Brundage Pool, which is available to Coach Goldberg and his staff to enhance the Husky training program. Between the two pools, the Huskies have 18 lanes available to them for training purposes. The recently completed $14 million remodeling of UConn's athletic facilities included complete renovation of Brundage Pool, extending and expanding the great facilities UConn has to offer its swimming and diving teams.

As part of the University of Connecticut's remodeled athletic complex, UConn's intercollegiate swimmers also have the use of a new, state-of-the-art 6,000 square foot weight room, featuring all of the latest in strength and conditioning equipment. In addition, the Huskies have daily access to a spacious athletic training facility with the latest technology for rehabilitating athletic injuries.

George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex (Hillside Road, Storrs campus, directly behind Greer Field House)

Directions to the Storrs Campus

The University of Connecticut field hockey and men and women's track and field programs find its home at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex, a $3.7 million athletic facility located adjacent to Memorial Stadium and the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in the heart of UConn's main campus in Storrs. A financial gift of more than $650,000 to UConn's Athletic Development Fund by Lottie K. Sherman of West Hartford helped provide the necessary funding for the project, and the entire complex bears the name of Lottie Sherman's late husband, George J. Sherman.

Opened in the 1995-96, academic year, the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex features a state-of-the-art artificial turf field (nylon knit on elastic layer over a vertical drain base), giving the UConn field hockey program one of the finest on-campus collegiate facilities in the nation. The complex also includes an eight-lane, 400-meter all-weather track surface as well as seating for 2,000 fans, full-field lighting, a press box, and a scoreboard with electronic message ability.

Hugh S. Greer Field House (Hillside Road, Storrs campus)

Directions to the Storrs Campus

The Hugh S. Greer Field House features a Martin ISS 2000 surface constructed of rubber particles bound with polyurethane. The complex includes locker rooms, weight facilities, a 200-meter track and infield area with separate long jump and triple jump pits, as well as areas for the pole vault and high jump. Also included is an eight-lane straightway sprint area.

Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum (Stadium Road, Storrs campus)

Directions to the Storrs Campus

The on-campus home for the University of Connecticut men's and women’s ice hockey teams is the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum, which opened in the fall of 1998.

J.O. Christian Field (Stadium Road, Storrs campus)

Directions to the Storrs Campus

The University of Connecticut baseball team plays its home games at J.O. Christian Field, one of the finest collegiate baseball facilities in the region.

Named for the longtime baseball coach (1936-61) and athletic director (1950-66), J. Orlean Christian, the field's dimensions are 340' down the lines, 370' to the alleys and 405' to straightaway centerfield.

The infield at J.O. Christian Field is made of Beam Clay; the clay used in most major league facilities. In addition, there is fencing that completely surrounds the field and within the perimeter, a crushed stone warning track. There is also a tarpaulin for rain protection.

J.O. Christian Field features permanent bleacher seating behind home plate and along the first and third base lines. Crowds at J.O. Christian Field have been in excess of 2,000 fans.

The spring of 1997 saw the opening of the University of Connecticut Batting/Pitching Facility. The 40-foot by 80-foot indoor pitching and batting facility is located adjacent to J.O. Christian Field. The building, heated, well-lighted and available for year-round use by Husky players, provides two pitching and batting tunnels with ample space for working and coaching.

J.O. Christian Field also features a fully electronic scoreboard in right field. A permanent press box along with new and extended bleacher seating were added to the facility before the 1993 season.