UConn

Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field

Location

East Hartford, CT, United States

Capacity

41,000

Opened

2003

Time zone

UTC -05:00 Eastern Standard Time (EST)

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.