Veterans Stadium (full name Veterans Memorial Stadium) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

. Opened in 1982, it is dedicated to the soldiers of the city who died in various U.S. wars, particularly

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The stadium now Houses CT United FC of the American Soccer League. The stadium is used mostly by

New Britain High School New Britain High School is a public high school in New Britain, Connecticut, United States, part of the Consolidated School District of New Britain. New Britain High School is one of the largest high schools in the state. Notable alumni * A ...

, and some other area schools, for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

games. It also hosts the

Connecticut Crushers The Connecticut Crushers were a women's American football team based in Hartford, and were a member of the Independent Women's Football League since 2009. Home games were played at Dillon Stadium. Prior to 2009, the team was known as the Con ...

of the

National Women's Football Association The National Women's Football Association (NWFA) was a full-contact American football league for women headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The league was founded by Catherine Masters in 2000, as the two benchmark teams, the Alabama Renegade ...

. The stadium was also home to the Connecticut Wolves team of the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

before that team folded in 2002. The stadium is an 8-lane oval track around a regulation-size

field. The track was dedicated to coach Irving S. Black in April 1992. Seating is all in metal

bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

, with 7 sections of 27 rows each on either side of the field. The estimated capacity is 12,448. In the summer of 2012, the middle seating on both sides was changed to better match the colors of

, which are maroon and gold. Seating colors of veterans stadium new britain sep 2012

The stadium is owned by the City of New Britain, and is part of Willow Brook Park. Also located in the complex are two

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

fields,

New Britain Stadium New Britain Stadium is a baseball venue in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. It is the home of the New Britain Bees of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Opened in 1996, the stadium seats 6,146 spectators. The stadium is part of th ...

and Beehive Field.

Sports

Soccer

In the 1970s and 1980s, it hosted four

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

matches. It most famously hosted the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

semifinals game between the

Carolina Railhawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

and the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

on September 4, 2007, in which New England won 2–1 to advance to the finals, where they eventually defeated

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

for the

Dewar Cup {{Unreferenced, date=December 2020 The Sir Thomas Dewar Cup, more commonly known as the Dewar Cup, was the trophy awarded to the winner of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, National Challenge Cup/Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition. It is named after ...

. New England would return to Veterans Stadium on July 1, 2008, to defeat the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

3–0 in the 3rd round of the 2008 U.S. Open Cup. New England would return again on July 8, 2008, to play

Crystal Palace Baltimore Crystal Palace Baltimore was an American professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, US. Founded in 2006, the club was originally named Crystal Palace USA and was affiliated with English side Crystal Palace. The club was a member of t ...

in the quarterfinal round. After 90 minutes of play and a half-hour of overtime, with the score 1-1, New England midfielder

Mauricio Castro Mauricio Fernando Castro Matamoros (born August 11, 1981) is a Honduran footballer who currently plays for Atlético Choloma in the Honduran National League. Club career Nicknamed ''Pipo'', Castro began his career in his native Honduras, pla ...

scored the Rev's 5th penalty kick out of five, winning the game on penalty kick on a score of 5–3.:: Crystal Palace F.C. USA ::
/ref> The New England Revolution were 3-1-0 at Veterans Stadium after their 2-1 Open Cup loss to

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

on June 30, 2009. The WPS Boston Breakers played a home match in Veterans Stadium against the Atlanta Beat in 2010.

Notable matches

References

{{New Britain, Connecticut Soccer venues in Connecticut Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States Monuments and memorials in Connecticut Buildings and structures in New Britain, Connecticut Sports venues in Hartford County, Connecticut 1982 establishments in Connecticut Sports venues completed in 1982 American football venues in Connecticut Sports in New Britain, Connecticut