USL Championship’s Hartford Athletic will play its home opener on Saturday, when UConn’s Rentschler Field begins its role as the club’s temporary venue.
New to the Division II circuit this season as an expansion club, the Athletic is slated to call a revived Dillon Stadium its permanent home. Construction has been taking place to bring the historic facility back into working order for professional soccer and other events, but it is not completed yet.
While it awaits the completion of that project, the Athletic will play home matches at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. The club began the season with eight straight road matches, and will play its first home game on Saturday night when it hosts the Charlotte Independence. More from the Hartford Courant:
As the construction and renovation continues at Dillon Stadium, Hartford Athletic will call Rentschler Field home for the foreseeable future. Single-game tickets for the team’s first seven home games (through June 29) are available.
The tickets range from $10 to $20, with the more expensive options being closer to midfield. Sections 118 and 119 are the designated “Supporters Section.” The entire lower bowl (approximately 17,000 seats) will be opened. According to the team, 10,000 seats are already accounted for.
Tailgating is encouraged, and the lots at Rentschler will open at 4 p.m. According to the team, there will be a pregame fan zone with games and live music. Gates will open at 6 p.m, an hour before kickoff. Prior to the match, all members of the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame will be honored.
Food will be sold inside the stadium, with options ranging from standard ballpark food — burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc. — to the chicken fries stand. There will also be two food trucks.
Located in East Hartford, Rentschler Field is primarily home to UConn’s football program, but has been used for a variety of other events. That includes an MLS match, as New York City FC moved a September 2017 game to the facility due to a scheduling conflict with the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Image of Rentschler Field courtesy UConn Football.
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