Trinity Health Stadium (formerly Dillon Stadium) is a multipurpose facility in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. It has been host to concerts and sporting events. It was formerly the home of the New England Nightmare of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). It is now the home of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut (thoug ...

. The

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of ...

men's and women's soccer teams played a majority of their 2019 matches at Dillon Stadium after starting their seasons at

Al-Marzook Field Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium officially known as Yousuf Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium is the on campus lacrosse and soccer stadium at the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut. In 2019 it was the home stadium for Hartf ...

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...

Sports

Football

Dillon Stadium was built in 1935. Formerly named Municipal Stadium, it was renamed in 1956 after James H. Dillon, the City's recreation director. Dillon Stadium was the home of two minor league football teams in the 1960s and 70s: the

Hartford Charter Oaks The Hartford Charter Oaks were a professional American football team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They began play in 1964 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Football League, replacing the Ansonia Black Knights. In 1965 the Charter Oaks were one ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

and

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Fo ...

, owned by the Brewer family, and the Hartford Knights, also of the ACFL and

Seaboard Football League The Seaboard Football League was an American football minor league that operated from 1971 to 1974.Bob Gill, with Steve Brainerd and Tod Maher, ''Minor League Football, 1960-85'' (McFarland and Co., 2002), pp84, 99-100 It folded during the 1974 ...

. Dillon is now used primarily for high school football teams, including the Bulkeley Bulldogs, the SMSA Tigers, the Prince Tech Falcons, and the Capital Prep Trailblazers. Dillon also hosts the annual

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

Turkey Game between Hartford Public Owls and the Weaver Beavers. Lights were added in 1964 to accommodate the Oaks. The stadium also hosted occasional club-level

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

games hosted by the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

. The

Hartford Colonials The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominall ...

of the United Football League, in part because of a change of management at

Rentschler Field Rentschler Field was an airport in East Hartford, Connecticut in use from 1933 to 1999. Originally a military facility, later a private corporate airport, it was decommissioned in 1999, after which the football stadium of the same name was bui ...

, experienced significant delays in renewing their lease for the 2011 season and had backup plans to relocate to Dillon Stadium (or Willow Brook Park), although neither venue was believed to be ideal for the UFL. The Colonials did sign a deal with Rentschler in June, but suspended operations on August 10, 2011; the league later folded it outright.

Soccer

International matches

Professional matches

College

Rugby

Trinity Health Stadium has hosted rugby on multiple occasions; including hosting the US men's national team and club nationals. In 1984, the

USA Rugby USA Rugby (formally the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby ...

Club National Championship was held at Trinity Health Stadium between Dallas Harlequin and

Los Angeles Rugby Club The Los Angeles Rugby Club (LARC) is a rugby union club in South Bay in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is a member of the Southern California Rugby Football Union within USA Rugby. History Competing continuously for over ...

with Dallas coming out victorious with a final score of 31-12. The venue would then host the USA Rugby Club Sevens National Championship Series on August 21 and 23, 1993. Old Blue R.F.C. would defeat the Kansas City Blues 40-22 to secure the national championship.

Ultimate frisbee

Renovation

Hartford City FC, a projected indoor soccer franchise that also hoped to compete in the outdoor

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, announced plans to reconstruct Dillon Stadium to create a 15,000 seat soccer-only stadium for the 2017 season. In 2014, the city awarded a $12 million contract to Premier Sports Management to redevelop the stadium in hopes of attracting a professional soccer team. The company was unable to interest various soccer leagues and instead partnered with an outside investor seeking to build a larger stadium on the site with city funding. However, the city ended the project in October 2015 over financial and legal concerns with the investment group, who were later found guilty of embezzling $1 million from the redevelopment fund. On February 17, 2018, the State Bond Commission approved $10 million in public funding. This would help the Hartford Sports Group establish a

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

club in 2019. On March 19, 2025, the Hartford Athletic Chairman Bruce Mandell announced they will expand the stadium's capacity to 15,000.

Concerts

On June 27, 1966,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

played in Dillon Stadium, supported by

The McCoys The McCoys were a rock music, rock group formed in Fort Recovery, Ohio, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "Hang On Sloopy". Originally named Rick and the Raiders, they changed their name to "The McCoys" from ...

(with their up-and-coming guitarist,

Rick Derringer Richard Dean Zehringer (August 5, 1947 – May 26, 2025), known professionally as Rick Derringer, was an American musician, producer and songwriter. He gained success in the 1960s with his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, " Hang On Sloopy", ...

). Near the end of the Stones' performance, fans rushed the stage, so electricity to the amplifiers was cut.

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

threw his microphone stand out into the crowd, and the Stones then left the venue, as fans began breaking chairs. Police gathered the crowd towards the exits. The

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

performed there in 1972 and again in 1973. On July 16, 1972, the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

played in Dillon Stadium and were joined on stage by

Dickey Betts Forrest Richard Betts (December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as a longtime member of the Allman Brothers Band. A co-founder of the band when it formed in 1969, he was central ...

Berry Oakley Raymond Berry Oakley III (April 4, 1948 – November 11, 1972) was an American bassist and one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band. Known for his long, melodic bass runs, he was ranked number 46 on ''Bass Player'' magazine's l ...

and

Jai Johanny Johanson John Lee Johnson (born July 8, 1944), frequently known by the stage names Jai Johanny Johanson and Jaimoe, is an American drummer and percussionist. He is best known as one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band and, with the death ...

of the

Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Greg ...

. Their July 31, 1974, performance at the field was released as an album titled '' Dave's Picks Volume 2''.

References

External links

*
Trinity Health Stadium
at

Hartford's Dillon Stadium
at JCJ Architecture {{Authority control American football venues in Connecticut Sports venues in Hartford, Connecticut Sports venues in Hartford County, Connecticut Rugby union stadiums in the United States Rugby union stadiums in Connecticut High school football venues in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums Soccer venues in Connecticut Hartford Athletic UConn Huskies soccer USL Championship stadiums College soccer venues in the United States 1935 establishments in Connecticut Sports venues completed in 1935