I despise football.
Yet there is something cool about Hartford having it’s own (sort of) professional football team. After the New England Patriot’s faux pas / snubbing of Connecticut, it’s kind of satisfying to be able to metaphorically give them the finger and let them know that we are so over that and we’ve moved on.
Except that Hartford will have to share.
With New York City.
Citing the economy, the first season will feature four teams(Las Vegas/Los Angeles, New York/Hartford, Orlando and San Francisco/Sacramento), instead of the originally planned six. If all goes well, then the United Football League will expand.
When the games are in “Hartford,” they won’t be in Hartford proper. The UFL is looking at the Yale Bowl in New Haven and Rentschler Field in East Hartford as possible venues.
The stated mission of the UFL is:
To fulfill the unmet needs of football fans in major markets currently underserved by professional football by providing a high quality traditional football league comprised of world class professional football players. The UFL will serve the communities with pride, dedication and passion, and uphold a leadership role in the development of football worldwide. The UFL will provide every fan with an affordable, accessible, exciting and entertaining game experience.
As someone who has no trouble enjoying less expensive sporting events, such as AHL Wolfpack games, I recognize how an alternative to the NFL can be attractive to those with less income. A trip to East Hartford is far easier to arrange than a trip over to see the Patriots or Giants.
So, why Hartford? The UFL describes the area this way:
The median household income for Hartford is ranked in the top ten nationally. With 1.2 million residents in its metropolitan area, Hartford represents the second largest area in New England and one of the larger U.S. metropolitan areas to not have its own major professional sports team. The city strongly supported the Hartford Whalers of the NHL for nearly 20 years (1979-97; 1972-79 in the World Hockey Association), but the franchise left after the 1997 season in search of a more lucrative arena deal in North Carolina. At present, Hartford is home to a minor league hockey team (Wolf Pack), a rugby football union team (Hartford Wanderers) and the University of Connecticut (UConn) football and basketball teams. Hartford is also in close proximity to a WNBA team (Connecticut Sun). […] Hartford has a surprisingly limited history in professional football. In fact, no NFL team nor alternate league team has ever been based in the city. In 1998, the New England Patriots were close to relocating to Hartford as Robert Kraft agreed in principal to move the team. The city promised a $350 million stadium (125-150 luxury suites and 6,000 club seats) as part of a planned $1 billion development project on the Connecticut river; however, Kraft rescinded his relocation agreement due to external pressures and dissatisfaction with the proposed stadium site. Kraft eventually secured a new stadium in Foxborough, a suburb of Boston, and forfeited his initial deposit of $2 million and interest to the state of Connecticut.
An interesting aspect of the UFL is that they allowing fans to assist in making some decisions:
We will be offering an IPO structure where fans get to own a piece of their team. This isn’t a cosmetic stock certificate but real shareholder equity. Our fans will be instrumental in selecting our team nicknames. On controversial decisions, like whether or not to bring Michael Vick into the UFL, we will rely on online fan-voting on our official website. Fans will influence some of the innovation in rules that we will employ (i.e. field goals over 50 yards are worth 4 points). We will use technology to bring the fan closer to the game. The coach-to-QB communication system is designed to bring fans right into the huddle and on the line of scrimmage. You’ll get an opportunity to follow your team into the locker room at halftime to finally get the true behind-the-scenes footage never shown before.
The season opener is still many months away, which means opportunity for th UFL to decide Connecticut is not the market for them after all. I don’t want to make any bets, but we have had a streak of bad luck when it comes to professional sports teams.
