Earlier this week I sat down with Robert McNicholas and talked about the potential expansion in Connecticut. There are several parties advocating for a team, so I’d like to make clear that my answers reflect only my views and not those of others involved in the process.
I think Connecticut deserves a club and would benefit the NASL because at the moment we’re a pro sports wasteland. With the exception of single-A and double-A baseball and an AHL hockey team there are no pro sports for people in the state. Connecticut has a strong soccer history and terrific club soccer roots, so I think a team could thrive here.
The biggest problem I’ve encountered is building a groundswell of support like Indy has because there have been so many false starts when it comes to pro sports in the state. Dating back to Bob Kraft using a move to Hartford as a way to persuade Massachusetts to build Gillette Stadium in the 90s, to more recent times when the AHL team was branded with Whalers nostalgia in hopes the NHL would move back. I think once a team was announced there would be a lot more support for an actual team than there currently has been in the lead-up.
It’s my understanding that the City of Hartford has put a contract out to bid on Dillon Stadium in the city’s south end, where whoever gets that contract would renovate and manage the facility and work to bring an NASL team to the city. Dillon needs some work but would be a good site and good size for NASL compared to Rentschler Field which is currently too large (40,000) and too expensive ($100,000 facility fee per game) to be realistic for NASL.
I’m glad Bill Peterson has recognized Hartford’s potential, and while some rumors had a team coming and being ready for play in 2015, I’ve heard that more realistically 2016 or 2017 could be expected.
I’m aware of an individual who would serve as team president and has been doing all the leg work to secure an ownership group, but since conversations I’ve had with this person have always been off the record, at this time I’m not at liberty to share more than that.
You can follow him on twitter and stay up to date on all the expansion news and information @NASLinHartford
