The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Coyotes first played at America West Arena in downtown Phoenix, before moving to Glendale's Gila River Arena in 2003. In 2021, the Coyotes are scheduled to return to the Central Division when an expansion team in Seattle joins the league.
The Hartford Whalers were an American professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1997. Originally based in Boston, the team joined the WHA in the league's inaugural season, and was known as the New England Whalers throughout its time in the WHA. The Whalers moved to Hartford in 1974 and joined the NHL in the NHL–WHA merger of 1979.
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team, along with the Chicago Bruisers, Denver Dynamite and Washington Commandos, joined the AFL in 1987 as one of the charter franchises, and by 1992 it was the last of the four still operating. The team ceased operations in 2017.
The Minnesota Fighting Pike were an Arena football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in 1996 as an expansion team. The Fighting Pike were the first ever attempt at an arena/indoor football team in the state of Minnesota. The owner of the Fighting Pike was Tom Scallen. The Fighting Pike played at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The team colors were green and gold. In a 2012 AFL Poll, the Fighting Pike were voted as the 8th greatest nickname in AFL history.
The Cleveland Gladiators are an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, currently on hiatus while members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The franchise was originally based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and then later in Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Cleveland for the 2008 AFL season. The Gladiators qualified for the playoffs eight times in their history, reaching the ArenaBowl in 2014. The Gladiators announced that they would not play the 2018 or 2019 seasons due to renovations on Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse that will require it to close during the offseason.
The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its home games at Amway Center.
The Cincinnati Rockers were an arena football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They began play in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League and competed through the 1993 season before they suspended operations due to low attendance. The Rockers played their home games at the Riverfront Coliseum.
The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York City and Hartford, Connecticut.
The Hartford Wolf Pack is a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a series of relocations, the team moved to Hartford in 1997 as the Hartford Wolf Pack. It is one of the oldest professional hockey franchises extant, and the oldest continuously operating minor league hockey franchise in North America.
Aaron Garcia is a former professional American football quarterback who played nineteen seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Washington State University before transferring to California State University, Sacramento, and was in the AFL for 19 seasons, from 1995 to 2014. After retiring from the AFL, Garcia was named the head coach of the Las Vegas Outlaws in September 2014, and was formally introduced as the head coach of the Outlaws on October 11, 2014. Garcia is married to Bryn Garcia and has four children, Gigi, Bella, Anthony and Christian.
The XL Center is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by the City of Hartford and operated by Spectra. In December 2007, the Center was renamed when the arena's naming rights were sold to XL Group insurance company in a 6-year agreement. The arena is ranked the 28th largest among college basketball arenas. Opened in 1974 as the Hartford Civic Center and originally located adjacent to Civic Center Mall, which was demolished in 2004. It consists of two facilities: the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Exhibition Center.
New Britain Stadium is a baseball venue in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. It is the home of the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Opened in 1996, the stadium seats 6,146 spectators.
Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field is a stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. It is primarily used for football and soccer, and is the home field of the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies. In the fall of 2010, it was home to the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League. The stadium, which opened in 2003, was the first stadium used primarily by an NCAA Division I-A team to open in the 21st century. The permanent stadium capacity is 40,000, consisting of 38,066 permanent seats with a standing-room area in the scoreboard plaza that can accommodate up to 1,934 people. It also has a game day capability to add approximately 2,000 temporary seats as it did for UConn football vs. Michigan in 2013. Connecticut played on campus at Memorial Stadium in Storrs, before 2003.
Dillon Stadium is a multipurpose facility in Hartford, Connecticut. 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 currently undergoing a complete reconstruction and will serve as the new home of USL Championship club Hartford Athletic.
The 1995 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League and the 1st under head coach Dom Capers. They went 7–9, the best debut year for any expansion franchise since the NFL's inception. The Panthers would go on to make the playoffs in only their second season in 1996. The Panthers played their first season's home games at Clemson University because Bank of America Stadium was still under construction after a deadline point in 1995 for scheduling Carolina's first set of NFL games.
The National Hockey League (NHL) has undergone several rounds of expansion and other organizational changes during its 100-year history to reach its current thirty-one teams: twenty-four in the United States, and seven in Canada. The league is in the process of a two-team expansion, which added the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and an as-yet unnamed Seattle NHL team set to begin play in 2021, at which point the league will have thirty-two teams. The league's most recent relocation was in 2011, when the former Atlanta Thrashers relocated to become the second and current incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.
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 nominally representing New York City but playing its home games in three stadiums, none of which were in the city proper: Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut; Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York ; and the now-demolished Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. As the Colonials, the team played all of its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, representing the adjacent city of Hartford. League-wide financial problems and the high rate of rent at Rentschler Field led to the league suspending the Colonials' operations in August 2011, a month before it would have begun play in its third season. The league had stated that the Colonials could be brought back for the 2012 UFL season, if it were to be played, but the announcement of the 2012 season removed Hartford's logo from the UFL Web site and did not include the team in the league's 2012 schedule.
Professional ice hockey in Connecticut has a rich tradition dating from the mid-1920s. Most of these teams were NHL minor league affiliates located in New Haven, though with the closure of the New Haven Coliseum, minor league affiliates now exist only exist in Hartford and Bridgeport. Hartford had its own Major league team, the Whalers team that existed in Hartford from 1974-97. Independent hockey leagues teams have also been gaining a foothold in Danbury starting in 2004.
Hartford City FC is a soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The team plays in the National Premier Soccer Leagues' Northeast Region, North Atlantic Conference. The team played its first game during the 2017 season. The Colts are coached by Christian Benjamin and play their games at CCSU Soccer Field in New Britain. In their first season of play, the Colts reached the Atlantic Division-White Conference Finals. In the 2018 season the Colts were knocked out in the conference semi-final. Coach Benjamin stepped down as head coach in December 2018 and a new coach is due to be announced in February 2019.
