Paying the Rent

As the NFL lockout looms ever closer, and was we slowly grind our way through this offseason towards the UFL's third, it's becoming ever more important that the league get a handle on its outstanding debts. Important to note in that list is that The UFL still owes $90,000 to the state of Connecticut for it's use of Rentschler field last year.

I'm not certain what the venue situation is in other cities, but I don't see any other place for the Colonials to play in Connecticut should they be unable to pay "The Rent." Dillon Stadium in Hartford crossed my mind: it's a 20k seat facility that is mostly used for high school football and (in the 60s) for Rolling Stones-related riots. Colonials fans could certainly fill up the stadium, which is half the size of Rentschler. But might there be a stigma attached to using a field that's primarily used by high-schoolers? Two other football teams--the Woman's Football Alliance's New England Nightmare, and the Independent Woman's Football League's Connecticut Crushers--also play in Dillon, which may cause scheduling troubles.

We already had two football teams in Hartford? How come nobody tells me these things? (Side note: Actually Crushers players were working the snack stands at the first Colonials games. First I'd heard of them. I wish them well, even though the New England Intensity are much closer to me geographically and have a much better record.)

The Yale Bowl in New Haven seats 60,000, and seems an unlikely place to play given that one of the major reasons the Tuskers were shuttered was how terrible the cavernous and old the Citrus Bowl was. The Yale Bowl was built in 1914 and would hold four times the average attendance of last year's games. Not ideal. And the fact that it's all the way out in New Haven might start giving people flashbacks to the Sentinels' 2009 season without a home.

The UConn Huskies old, 16k capacity field, Memorial Stadium in Storrs (pictured below)? It would look terrible if the Colonials were shuffled off to the Huskies old and unused stadium. Particularly since it's apparently slated for demolition. It has about the capacity, but a lot of baggage to go with it.

"I am a sad stadium."

Sad to say that outside of Rentschler field these are our best options. I grew up in East Hartford, where Rentschler is situated, and I have a soft spot in my heart for the stadium because it's both in my old hometown and because I always felt it was underutilized. It is also, hands down, the best stadium the UFL has right now. TD Ameritrade? Pftt. New, but really a baseball park. The Virginia Sportsplex? Please. The new designs look great but they're not a patch on the Rent. I know nothing about Sammy Boyd and don't care to expand on that. And then all we have left is the Mountain Lions and Hornet Field, which is probably just a ripoff of the New Britain Rock Cats old ballpark, Beehive Field. I have a lot of good memories of Beehive Field, and you, sir, are no Beehive Field.

Alright, so I get unreasonable when it comes down to matters of local pride. In all seriousness, Rentschler is the only stadium in the UFL right now that was built explicitly for football and has the capacity needed for the pro game without looking like a canyon. It's a great stadium and the Colonials' best option in the Hartford area. Let's hope they can get this straightened out before August.