Trinity Health Stadium (formerly Dillon Stadium) is a multipurpose facility in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. 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 club Hartford Athletic and National Premier Soccer League club Hartford City FC. The UConn Huskies 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 in West Hartford, Connecticut.

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 of the Atlantic Coast Football League and Continental Football League, owned by the Brewer family, and the Hartford Knights, also of the ACFL and Seaboard Football League. 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 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 games hosted by the University of Hartford. The Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, in part because of a change of management at Rentschler Field, 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 DateTeamsMatch TypeAttendanceNotes September 9, 1973 1–0 International Friendly 4,200 June 21, 1975 Hartford Bicentennials 0–2 Friendly 10,746 June 8, 1977 Connecticut Bicentennials 0–2 Lazio Friendly 3,154 August 17, 2019 Hartford Athletic 5–1 Friendly 4,685 October 26, 2019 Hartford Athletic 1–2 Portmore United F.C. Friendly – July 21, 2023 F.C. Motagua 2–1 Comunicaciones F.C. Friendly – C.D. Olimpia 0–1 C.S.D. Municipal Friendly – July 16, 2024 Olancho FC 1–2 C.S.D. Municipal Friendly – F.C. Motagua 1–1 Comunicaciones F.C. Friendly –

Professional matches DateTeamsMatch TypeAttendanceNotes December 3, 1973 Hartford Hellenic 3-2 New Haven City 1973 National Challenge CupFirst Round – October 10, 2020 Hartford Athletic 0–1 Saint Louis FC USL Championship Quarterfinal 2,194 March 22, 2022 Hartford City FC 0–3 Oyster Bay United FC 2022 U.S. Open CupRound 1 200 April 7, 2022 Hartford Athletic 3–1 Oyster Bay United FC 2022 U.S. Open CupRound 2 1,634 April 20, 2022 Hartford Athletic 1–2 New York Red Bulls 2022 U.S. Open CupRound 3 5,144 March 23, 2023 Hartford City FC 1–2 Lansdowne Yonkers FC 2023 U.S. Open CupRound 1 500 April 4, 2023 Hartford Athletic 3–0 Lansdowne Yonkers FC 2023 U.S. Open CupRound 2 500 April 17, 2024 Hartford Athletic 2-3 New York City FC II 2024 U.S. Open CupRound 3 2,552 March 18, 2025 Hartford Athletic 3–0 New York Shockers 2025 U.S. Open Cup Round 1 2,287 October 4, 2026 Hartford Athletic 0-1 Louisville City FC 2026 USL Cup Final 6,179

College Date Teams Competition Attendance September 8, 2019 Boston University Terriers 1–3 UConn Huskies Non-conference 328 September 15, 2019 Harvard Crimson 3–1 UConn Huskies Non-conference 567 September 17, 2019 Manhattan Jaspers 1–2 UConn Huskies Non-conference 1,221 September 20, 2019 Columbia Lions 3–2 UConn Huskies Non-conference 2,241 September 26, 2019 East Carolina Pirates 1–0 UConn Huskies Conference 457 September 26, 2019 Cincinnati Bearcats 1–0 UConn Huskies Conference 0 October 4, 2019 Memphis Tigers 1–0 UConn Huskies Conference 1,007 October 8, 2019 Providence Friars 2–1 UConn Huskies Non-conference 758 October 10, 2019 Houston Cougars 1–2 UConn Huskies Conference 216 October 13, 2019 Southern Methodist Mustangs 0–1 UConn Huskies Conference 2,109 October 20, 2019 Central Florida Knights 2–1 UConn Huskies Conference 1,625 October 31, 2019 Temple Owls 1–1 UConn Huskies Conference 561 November 5, 2019 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 3–6 UConn Huskies Conference 1,114

Rugby DateTeamsMatch TypeAttendanceNotes June 19, 1982 59–0 1982 England Tour 9,000 May 18, 1991 41–12 Friendly July 3, 2004 39–31 Friendly 5,840 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 Club National Championship was held at Trinity Health Stadium between Dallas Harlequins and Los Angeles Rugby Club 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 DateVisiting TeamScoreHome TeamLeagueAttendanceNotes June 29, 2024 Salt Lake Shred 14-25 New York Empire UFA -- July 20, 2024 DC Breeze 24-20 New York Empire UFA

Renovation

Hartford City FC, a projected indoor soccer franchise that also hoped to compete in the outdoor North American Soccer League, 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 club in 2019.

The stadium is expandable up to a capacity of 15,000.

Concerts On June 27, 1966, The Rolling Stones played in Dillon Stadium, supported by The McCoys (with their up-and-coming guitarist, Rick Derringer). Near the end of the Stones' performance, fans rushed the stage, so electricity to the amplifiers was cut. Mick Jagger 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 performed there in 1972 and again in 1973.

The Grateful Dead played two concerts at Dillon Stadium - in 1972 and 1974. On July 16, 1972, they were joined on stage by Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley and Jai Johanny Johanson of the Allman Brothers. Their July 31, 1974, performance at the field was released as an album titled Dave's Picks Volume 2.

Date Artist Opening act(s) Tour / Concert name Attendance Gross Notes June 27, 1966 The Rolling Stones The McCoysThe Standells The Rolling Stones American Tour 1966 July 16, 1972 Grateful Dead Summer 1972 14,000 August 18, 1972 The Doors The Beach BoysThe KinksPhlorescent Leech & Eddie 14,000 August 20, 1972 Jefferson Airplane September 25, 1972 Yes Close to the Edge Tour June 23, 1973 The Allman Brothers Band The Marshall Tucker BandSons of Champlin August 17, 1973 Santana Caravanserai Tour August 24, 1973 The Beach Boys PocoJonathan Edwards July 31, 1974 Grateful Dead Summer 1974 20,000 August 26, 1974 Aerosmith Deep PurpleElf August 29, 1974 The Doobie Brothers Loggins and Messina May 26, 1976 Ted Nugent

References

External links

Trinity Health Stadium at Hartford Athletic Hartford's Dillon Stadium at JCJ Architecture