Rafferty Stadium is a 3,500-seat lacrosse stadium on the campus of

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time a ...

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan are ...

. It is home to the

Fairfield Stags The Fairfield Stags are the athletic programs representing Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of the programs are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and classified as Division I (non-football) in the Natio ...

men's and women's lacrosse teams. The facility opened officially on February 2, 2015. The stadium is named in recognition of the principal leadership gift from university alumnus

Larry Rafferty The Fairfield Stags men's basketball team represents Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut and competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games in the 3,500 seat Leo D. Mahoney Are ...

. The field of the stadium in named Conway Field in acknowledgment of a gift from

Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 100 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles, he portrayed the ...

, another alumnus.

Facility overview

Rafferty Stadium features a

Daktronics Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. Founded in 1968 by ...

HD video board and state-of-the-art sound and lights. Conway Field is a FieldTurf playing surface. The stadium also includes a terrace level with a fully enclosed press box that features a large media suite, two VIP suites and a production suite to support the video capabilities of the scoreboard, television broadcasts and web streaming. On the ground level are two team rooms, food, beverage and apparel concessions, restrooms, a box office and entry plaza. Stephen Holland Fairfield Stags

The Rafferty Stadium President's Suite is home to an original painting by renowned American sports artist

Stephen Holland Stephen Roy Holland, OAM (born 31 May 1958) is an Australian former freestyle swimmer of the 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 1500 m freestyle at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In a brief and spectacular career, he broke 12 world rec ...

Notable events

* On March 21, 2015, Fairfield University President

Jeffrey P. von Arx Jeffrey Paul von Arx (born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, raised in Locust Valley, New York) was the 8th President of Fairfield University. He served as the President of Fairfield University from July 1, 2004 until December 31, 2016. Previously ...

S.J. officially dedicated and blessed Rafferty Stadium and Conway Field while the women's lacrosse team defeated the Manhattan Jaspers and the men's lacrosse team defeated the then nationally ranked Villanova Wildcats. * In April 2015, the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...

(CAA) played its 2015 Men's Lacrosse Championship at Rafferty Stadium after the

won the CAA regular season title during its inaugural season in the league.

Professional Lacrosse

* In August 2016, three former Stags competed in the first-ever professional sporting event at Rafferty Stadium. Men's lacrosse standouts

Greg Downing Greg "GD" Downing (born March 24, 1985, in Auburn, New York) is a professional lacrosse player with the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse and with the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. He was selected to participate in the 200 ...

‘07,

Mike Bocklet Mike Bocklet (born November 3, 1984) is a professional lacrosse player with the Chaos of Premier Lacrosse League and the head coach of the John Jay High School men's lacrosse team in Cross River, NY. Bocklet is the director and co-founder of the X ...

‘07 and former Stag Matt Bocklet of the

Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws were a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team. Since joining the league, the Outlaws have played in the ...

defeated the

New York Lizards The New York Lizards, originally the Long Island Lizards, were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team based in Hempstead, New York, located on Long Island. They are original members of the MLL. They lost the league's inaugural game on June 7, 2001 ...

, 20–17, in a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Semi-final game. * In January 2020, the newly formerd

Connecticut Hammerheads The Connecticut Hammerheads were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Fairfield, Connecticut. The team played for one season during the 2020 season. The team's home field was Rafferty Stadium located on the ...

of the MLL announced that Rafferty Stadium would be their home venue. * The

Premier Lacrosse League Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...

is slated to host week 7 of its 2022 season at Rafferty Stadium on July 23-24, 2022.

References

External links

Conway Field at Rafferty StadiumRafferty StadiumRafferty Stadium Groundbreaking
Fairfield Stags lacrosse Connecticut Hammerheads Buildings and structures in Fairfield, Connecticut College lacrosse venues in the United States Major League Lacrosse venues Premier Lacrosse League venues Lacrosse venues in Connecticut Sports venues in Fairfield County, Connecticut 2014 establishments in Connecticut Sports venues completed in 2014 {{Connecticut-stadium-stub