Venue: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field
Address: 615 Silver Lane
Town: East Hartford, US
Capacity: 40,000

Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field is a stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. It is primarily used for football and soccer, and is the home field of the University of Connecticut Huskies (UConn). In 2010, it was home to the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League. The stadium, which opened in 2003, was the first stadium used primarily by an NCAA FBS (formerly Division I-A) team to open in the 21st century. Prior to its opening, Connecticut had played on-campus at Memorial Stadium in Storrs from 1953 to 2002. 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 after Frederick Rentschler, who founded Pratt & Whitney in 1925 and also founded its parent company, United Technologies. It was originally used for test flights and maintenance operations, and later for corporate aviation. The 75-acre (30 ha) site was decommissioned as an airport in the 1990s, and donated to the state of Connecticut by United Technologies in 1999. A subsequent 65-acre donation by United Technologies in 2009 allowed for the construction of additional grass parking lots adjacent to the Stadium. Pursuant to a lease agreement with the State, UConn plays all its home football games at Rentschler Field. 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 downtown Hartford. However, when the Patriots completed the deal for Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, the Hartford stadium plan was scaled down and the location was moved to East Hartford. The current capacity of 40,000 can expand to 50,000 with limited rehabilitation and has the layout and design for expansion of up to 60,000 seats in the future. The stadium is owned by the State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management, while operati