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 by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

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

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. 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 New Britain Public Schools. New Britain High School is one of the largest high schools in the state. Notable alumni * Anita Antoinette * Steve ...

, and some other area schools, for football and soccer 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 Trinity Health Stadium (formerly Dillon Sta ...

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 Renegades ...

. The stadium was also home to the

Connecticut Wolves The Connecticut Wolves were an American soccer club that was founded by the Clifton Onolfo, the Onolfo Family, and several investors including Tony DiCicco. The Club's inaugural match was attended by 5,200 plus fans and competed in the United Soc ...

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 fi ...

before that team folded in 2002. The stadium is an 8-lane oval track around a regulation-size football field. The track was dedicated to coach Irving S. Black in April 1992. Seating is all in metal bleachers, with 7 sections of 27 rows each on either side of the field. The estimated capacity is 8,448. 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 sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 the ...

and

Beehive Field Beehive Field is a stadium in New Britain, Connecticut. The ballpark has a capacity of 4,700. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of the New Britain Red Sox (Boston Red Sox AA affiliate) from the time of their move to the city in 1 ...

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) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

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 of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

semifinals game between the

Carolina Railhawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

and the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

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 soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

for the Dewar Cup. New England would return to Veterans Stadium on July 1, 2008, to defeat the Richmond Kickers 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 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 Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was 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 United States soccer ...

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