New Hartford Baseball Team Will Revitalize City

Early this offseason, the Colorado Rockies swooped in and severed the Minnesota Twin’s 20-year relationship with the New Britain Rock Cats. The Rock Cats, a Double-A franchise of the Eastern League, will keep their name and continue playing in New Britain for the 2015 season.

The Eye Witness news reports that the team will not be playing in New Britain, but in Hartford beginning Opening Day 2016.

Connecticut’s capitol, 15 miles north of New Britain, will be getting their first taste of professional baseball since the Hartford Chiefs left more than 60 years ago. The new venue has already undergone construction. It will hold a more than 9,000 fans and is rumored to cost $56 million.

More from MLB Prospects

Along with the stadium, Hartford’s city council approved a $350 million project meant to bring excitement, jobs, and life back into the city.

300 housing units, multiple restaurants, a bar, new parking structures, public open spaces, and a brand new supermarket — more than 100,000 total square feet of commercial space — are currently being developed to open in April 2016.

The Rock Cats are reportedly “right on schedule” with their plans. Josh Solomon, the team’s owner, offered promising words about the progress at the Rock Cats’ annual hot stove luncheon in late January.

"“I think what the public can expect is a state-of-the-art ballpark open for the 2016 season. We’re providing a world-class-facility for our fans”"

Due to a lack of professional sports teams, Hartford has gone through an identity crisis ever since the Connecticut Whalers moved to Carolina. Lying smack in the middle of New York and Boston, residents have to make the hard decision between the Red Sox and Yankees. Now, however, citizens of Hartford will have their very own baseball team to root for. And there will be hundreds of jobs coming with a revitalized downtown to boot.

Averaging just 3,967 fans per game, the Hartford Wolf Pack, the New York Islanders AFL affiliate, has recently seen an uptick in attendance after the new baseball stadium began The majority of the XL center has been full in each of the team’s last three home contests, with a season-high 10,789 turning out for a game against Springfield on January 31st.

Chris Lawrence, the overseer of the operation of the Wolf Pack, sees a positive relationship between the two minor league clubs in the future.

"“Instead of looking at [the new baseball team] as a threat, [we will look to] find ways to cross-promote and maximize each other’s values. I think it’s good for the city”"

And don’t worry just yet New Britain baseball fans, Mayor Erin Stewart has committed to keeping baseball in her city even after the Rock Cats move to Hartford.

“Whether it’s the Rock Cats…or another franchise… we will certainly continue to have baseball at New Britain stadium and will explore all options that are available to the city.”

If New Britain can wait a year, they might be the perfect location for the Mets to move their Triple-A team. New York’s player-development contract with Las Vegas expires after the 2016 season.

Overall, the new stadium is a feel-good story for a Hartford community that has gone through a lot of adversity and unfair branding over the years. As a native of Connecticut, I could not be more excited to check out the new facility, hopefully as soon as Opening Day 2016.

The potential for baseball has inserted life into an area that was struggling both financially and culturally. That right there, the hope and excitement that professional baseball can bring to a beaten-down city, is the reason I love our national pastime.

More from Call to the Pen