<body><div>Photos by Paul Baker, Stadium JourneyStadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.86XL Center 1 Civic Center Plaza Hartford, CT 06103Year Opened: 1975Capacity: 14,750<h2>Husky Hockey in Hartford</h2>The XL Center, formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center, is the largest arena in the state of Connecticut. It was originally built in 1974 as part of a downtown project that included an adjacent mall, convention center, office space, hotel and parking garage. Some people still refer to the XL Center as “The Mall,” even though the mall portion of the complex was demolished in 2004 and replaced with a 36-story residential tower.The University of Connecticut has sponsored varsity hockey programs since 1960. They initially competed at the Division Three level in the ECAC conference. The team played at an outdoor rink near Memorial Stadium until 1998, when the school made the decision to upgrade to Division One. The Freitas Ice Forum was built to house the team and served as the Huskies home until the team joined the Hockey East Conference in 2014. At that time, the Huskies moved to downtown Hartford and the XL Center.Despite the XL Center’s history as an NHL arena, it was never meant to be more than a temporary home for Huskies hockey while a plan was developed for an on-campus arena. In 2021 UConn announced plans to build a new arena adjacent from the Freitas Ice Forum. The Toscano Family Ice Forum hosted its first women’s hockey game on January 13, 2023 and its first men’s hockey game on January 14, 2023. The school now plays the majority of its games on campus, scheduling only four games a year in Hartford.The Huskies have yet to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Seven UConn alumni have played in the National Hockey League.Food &amp; Beverage 5The XL Center offers a menu that balances traditional arena fare with local flavor. Depending on your appetite, you can visit Chicken Fry Fry (featuring chicken tenders and fries), Fresh Classics (sausage and pepper sandwiches and nachos), Grill Masters (burgers), or hot dog nation (yep, hot dogs). Chick-Fil-A operates a cart selling their legendary sandwiches. Dunkin’ Donuts operates a pair of stands featuring their signature coffee and baked goods. Pepsi products are featured at the XL Center. A complete concessions guide can be found here.Visiting fans looking for a bit of local flavor should seek out Ted’s Cheeseburgers, which features gourmet burgers cooked in a style unique to Central Connecticut: they are steamed. Also, local favorite Bear’s Barbeque operates a small stand selling brisket, pulled pork and their popular mac and cheese. Randy’s Wooster House of Pizza operates a stand serving up their legendary slices.Fans looking for an adult beverage will be pleased to find stands dedicated specifically to alcohol sales. Several national beer brands, including Sam Adams, Budweiser, Coors Light and Blue Moon can be found throughout the XL Center. Local brewery Two Roads sells a UConn branded specialty brew, TwoConn Easy Ale.A new option at the XL Center is the new Sports Bar and Fanatics Sportsbook, where fans can watch games on the 80 televisions hung on its 100 foot-long video wall while placing bets on the action. The Sportsbook Lounge also offers a full-service bar and restaurant featuring a menu of arena favorites.Atmosphere 3Fans who have visited the XL Center over the years can testify that the sheer size of the XL Center works to spread out the fans and dampen any noise produced by the crowd. For Huskies crowds, however, some life is breathed into the old building. Driven by the student section and pep band, there’s an energy here that the old barn doesn’t often see. With the XL Center’s location 27 miles from campus, the turnout from students can be pretty impressive.Arena staff put on a nice presentation, with the large video board put to use with hype videos, ads, replays and crowd shots. There are t-shirt tosses and other contests to keep fans engaged, and the Husky mascot, Jonathan, participates on the ice and interacts with the crowd throughout the game.Neighborhood 5Hartford is rarely thought of as a destination city, but the XL Center’s location in downtown Hartford gives it an excellent rating. The area around the arena features numerous restaurants, shops and attractions. Pratt Street, located directly across the street from the XL Center, is lined with many excellent pubs and restaurants. City Steam Tap Room is located a block away on Main Street and features a legendary craft beer lineup. Black-Eyed Sally’s on Asylum Street features live music and excellent barbeque. Hartford suffers from a bad reputation, but the area around the XL Center is safe and walkable.For fans interested in exploring the downtown area, there are some attractions nearby worth mentioning. The Old State House is located a few blocks away and contains exhibits on Hartford history. Tours are discounted for AAA members and will cost history buffs a mere $3. The State Capitol and Bushnell Park are popular attractions located nearby. The Mark Twain House and Museum and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center are both located just a short drive from the downtown area.Fans looking for other sporting options in Hartford can pair a Huskies hockey game with a UConn men’s or women’s basketball game here. The AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack also call the XL Center home, and the Hartford Yard Goats play a couple of blocks away at Dunkin’ Park. Hartford Athletic FC play at Trinity Health Stadium on the Connecticut River waterfront. Of course, the Storrs campus is just over a half hour away.Fans 3Crowds for Huskies hockey can vary greatly depending on the time of year, opponent and even the weather. Stadium Journey visited the XL Center on a beautiful October Saturday afternoon with an announced crowd of about 2,700 in attendance. While a decent crowd, the sheer size of the XL Center makes a decent crowd look tiny. Larger crowds can be expected later in the year, after football season ends. UConn hockey generally lands in the middle of the pack in terms of national attendance, drawing around 3,000 fans per game.Despite the XL Center’s location 21 miles from the UConn campus, a good turnout from the student body can be expected. Driven by the pep band, the students give the building some energy night after night. Locals, youth teams and alumni help fill the XL Center.Access 4The XL Center is in downtown Hartford, easily reached via either Interstate 84 or 91. The arena is only a few blocks away from either highway. Traffic in the city is often difficult to navigate, particularly for weekday games. Be sure to give yourself extra time to arrive, as both highways back up regularly around rush hour and beyond.There are almost 50 parking lots and garages in the downtown area, all within walking distance of the XL Center. If you want to plan ahead, the XL Center website has a link to the downtown map here. In addition to these paid spots, on-street parking is readily available around the XL Center. Meters are not in operation on weekends.Once inside the XL Center, fans will enter a spacious lobby. This area was once part of the Civic Center Mall but is mostly empty space now. The ticket office is located here, as well as access to the attached parking garage and the Coliseum Club on the second level. There is a nice display in this area featuring jerseys from every high school hockey program in Connecticut, as well as a display featuring photos from Hartford’s hockey history.All seats in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum consist of folding stadium chairs. The seating bowl at the XL Center is very steeply pitched, ensuring great sight lines no matter where you sit. Upper level seats are usually not sold. Since the typical Husky crowd only fills a fraction of the XL Center, getting around is usually not too difficult. Rest rooms are clean and large enough for the typical Husky crowd.Return on Investment 4Tickets for Husky games at the XL Center are affordable. Center ice sections sell for $23, with end zone seating priced at $18.Parking in the lots and garages surrounding the XL Center ranges in price from $10-20, with on-street parking available for fans wishing to search for it. On-street parking is free after 6 PM on weekdays and all day long on weekends.Concession prices are a bit on the high side, particularly for premium items, but are not out of line with other venues in the area.Extras 3Banners honoring the 17 University of Connecticut National basketball champions (11 women’s, 6 men’s) hang from the rafters on one end of the arena. On the other end of the arena, the Huskies have hung their 2000 MAAC championship banner.The XL Center doesn’t ignore its past as the home of the Hartford Whalers. Banners honoring Whalers division championships, retired numbers, and the Howe family, who all played together in Hartford, hang from the rafters. In addition, the lobby contains a large mural of some of the highlights of Hartford’s professional hockey history.After every Husky goal, Brass Bonanza, the Whalers’ goal song, plays.Final ThoughtsThe XL Center has its share of critics, particularly those who feel that Hartford deserves another NHL team. While the XL Center is no longer an adequate facility for the NHL, it is an excellent venue for college hockey, even if it is a bit too large for the needs of UConn. With the building of the Toscano Family Ice Forum, the XL Center will host only a handful of games every year, handling those games deemed too big to be held on-campus.Follow Paul Baker’s stadium journeys on Twitter and Instagram @PuckmanRI.</div></body>

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XL Center – Connecticut Huskies Hockey

The XL Center, formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center, is the largest arena in the state of Connecticut. It was originally built in 1974 as part of a downtown project that included an adjacent mall, convention center, office space, hotel and parking garage. Some people still refer to the XL Center as “The Mall,” even though the mall portion of the complex was demolished in 2004 and replaced with a 36-story residential tower.