Title says it all, I think Hartford would be a great area for an NASL team. Renchler field is a great facility, over a million in the Hartford area and no other major sports teams to compete.
D2 Football did not make it up there, you think D2 soccer would? And like brentgoulet said the most important part Hartford needs is a rich guy wiling to invest.
Unless a D2 club had a sweet rental deal at Renchler like Orlando has with Citrus Bowl, forget it, it would be over kill.
I have heard from an actual person (step up from on the internet) that there was a group inquiring about a D2 team at The Rent a few years ago. The stadium people were asking way, way too much.
Different season. UFL has to compete with UConn football. What is there to do in central Connecticut in the summer? The question obviously is what Rentschler would ask for rent. Given a decent deal, and proper marketing, it could work. Speaking purely from a technical standpoint, Rentschler is a PRIME edifice for true football. Field dimension is more than capable of a FIFA-regulation pitch.
I lived in Boston for a number of years, but I honestly can't speak to much of the soccer culture elsewhere in New England. Is there strong support for soccer in Connecticut? Good youth systems?
Dillon Stadium currently sucks, from what I've been told by people in New England, but would it be able to be fixed up? Would make a good SSS if it could. Would provide a better atmosphere than cavernous Rentschler.
When this was discussed back in the USL days, the talk was that the City always has some masterplan for Dillon Stadium. At one point, it was a retro ballpark with no tenant as some kind of tourist attraction. They use it for high school football and at the moment are content for it to stay that way. To make it usable and more importantly profitable for D-2, the site will have to be rebuilt over a number of years and high school football will likely have to cease. With the city unwilling to do anything to help, the owner would need deep pockets and probably buy the stadium from the city.
The rent at The Rent was exactly why the UFL left Hartford. Highest the league encountered by a huge margin. Meanwhile, that same owner took over the VA Beach team, with the lowest stadium rent in the league, and was able to put together the first profitable UFL team while also more than doubling the stadiums previous yearly income. Until UConn wants to be reasonable about the use of their stadium, Hartford is going to be avoided.
Hartford will work without a doubt. UCONN draws 5,ooo average a game. Revolution do very well in NewBritain for their US cup games. I was talking to Revs ticket agent and he said over 10% of their tickets are sold to residents of ct. Those people would definitely switch to ct based team.
UConn men's soccer average attendance: 2011 - 3,600 2010 - 3,126 2009 - 3,037 2008 - 3,011 2007 - 3,244 UConn routinely ranks among college soccer's attendance leaders. But college soccer attendance has eff-all to do with how a professional team would draw in the same area. They haven't played in New Britain in an Open Cup match since 2009. 2007 Semifinal vs. Carolina (4,203) 2008 3rd Round vs. Richmond (3,950) 2008 Quarterfinal vs. Baltimore (2,590) 2009 3rd Round vs. Harrisburg (3,100) There is no "without a doubt" when it comes to D2 soccer, especially based solely on location, college attendance and what an MLS team draws in Open Cup games nearby. If a Hartford team had a committed local owner with money and vision, they'd have as good a chance as anybody (but Rentschler would still be too big for almost any D2 team ever). But it's ludicrous to say "Hartford will work without a doubt," especially when your supporting evidence is flimsy or just incorrect.
Hartford is a tough place to place a franchise. Parts of downtown are like the DMZ with roving gangs preying on the innocent, some suburbs are fantastic. The Rent is known to charge very high rent. The UFL and USA Rugby found this out the hard way. Both vowed never to set foot in the rent again due to the rent.
I wouldn't be so sure the Revs would lose 10% of their sales to a second division team. I know some who come from the Hartford area that may drop their season tickets, but many times more who drive from Eastern CT where the drive west wouldn't be that much shorter. But I do think Hartford would be a wonderful place for NASL with adequate owner, stadium, blah blah blah...
I live in the Hartford area, I would def still go to Rev games just as much, and enjoy the local Nasl differently then the MLS. People have favorite college football and NFL teams, why not 1st and 2nd division soccer teams?
http://newenglandforce.com/newsdetail.aspx?id=25 The New England Force is going to be playing at Dillon and Rentschler. I realize the game at the Rent will likely be against Tigres, but you would figure they at least have some kind of money behind them to play at a place that people say charges a lot.
From the website: Also: Who are these guys? Since they are playing a NPSL, USL Pro and PDL clubs, I would guess if they are going pro its with USL Pro. But who knows. EDIT: the coach was involved with the Austin Posse. Remember them? http://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/austin-posse.98846/
New interview with the Commish has him talking expansion in the New England/Boston area, and he says they're looking at 'several cities.' A glimmer of hope, maybe?
Because there's no way on Earth they could be anything but a success, right? They can't even spell Harrisburg.
