Hartfords sports news and developments
The capital city of Connecticut is Hartford. Hartford is the second largest city within the state of Connecticut, Bridge port being ranked the first. Hartford has a population of 1,188,841 and is also the biggest metro of Connecticut. Because of the presence of a large range of insurance companies in this region, Hartford is also very commonly called the Insurance capital on the planet.
One of the oldest cities in the USA, Hartford is almost 400 years old and it is probably among its wealthiest cities. Harford has gone on to have a facelift after a long period of stagnation incorporating new commercial ventures through commercial and residential developments, a brand new convention centre, a hotel, a state of the art science centre along with a reclaimed riverfront. Most of these developments have taken place in Hartfords downtown area. Hartford has been steeped in culture housing the countrys oldest museum of public art known as the Wadsworth Antheneum as well as its oldest public park known as the Bushnell Park. The news provider of this area, the Hartford Courant is among the oldest publications.
Hartford is home to one professional sports team. Called the Hartford Wolf Pack, this team plays professional ice hockey and it is an integral part of the American Hockey League. The Hartford Wolf pack was established in 1997 once the Hartford Whalers moved on to become the California Hurricane.
They were initially called the Binghamton Rangers and went on to be called the Binghamton Whalers as well as the Providence Reds finally settling on Hartford Wolf Pack. They have made considerable sports news by making to the playoffs for each of their eleven playing seasons. They won the Calder Cup in the 1999 -2000 season and consider it for being their best season to date.
Hartford also houses a rugby union club called the Hartford Wanderers. They were established in 1996 by a group from the University of Connecticut Law School. The groups main intention was to establish a structured social athletic club within the Hartford area. This club went on to producing four players who have gone onto play with the National Rugby Team called the United States Eagles. This club has also toured several countries including England, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, Bermuda, Scotland and the Bahamas.
Hartford is also very involved in the field of college sports. They University of Connecticut has separate mens and womens basketball teams called the UConn Huskies. They play in the XL Centre situated in Hartford. The XL Centre is amongst the largest college basketball arenas in the United Sates ranking 28th. Initially it had been known by the name of Hartford Civic Centre but the naming rights were sold to the XL Capital Insurance Company in December 2007 incorporating the name change.
The Discover Hartford Bicycling and Walking Tour is a unique initiative that made news in Hartford and has been taken by the Central Connecticut Bicycling Association in order to promote cycling in the town and promote non-vehicular transport inside the city.