Officials from the American Soccer League and New Britain Mayor Erin E. Stewart have scheduled a press conference Thursday to announce the city’s new partnership with the league to bring the only professional soccer team in the state to the Hardware City.
The mayor’s spokesperson said this is a different league than was slated to play in Hartford at Dillon Stadium. That minor league soccer franchise, Hartford City FC, was sidelined after the Major Arena Soccer League booted the team from the league following news of a federal probe into the team’s founders.
New Britain has entered into an agreement with the league to have the Connecticut United Football Club play at Veterans Memorial Stadium starting this spring. It is located next to the stadium where the minor league New Britain Bees will play their home games.
Stewart said she is pushing to make New Britain the sports capital of the state. Last fall, the city’s former minor league baseball team, the New Britain Rock Cats, relocated abruptly to Hartford to become known as the Yard Goats.
The American Soccer League is a professional development league that features many players who go on to play in Major League Soccer or internationally. Other teams in the league are located in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The league is also expanding in the southeastern and western portions of the country.
