Just went to Rentschler - Observations
As a recent graduate that is less than 4 months removed from living on East U, I thought I would share my recent impressions of Rentschler Field. I went for work (there was a product fair in the club area), and couldn't help but compare it to the Big House the entire time I was there.
My (kind of random) thoughts:
1. It's in East Hartford, which is almost 30 minutes from Storrs. Understandable that UConn students aren't as into football.
2. It's in a weird area; across the street on one side there's a huge Cabelas and a large pharmaceutical? company headquarters. Another side is a neighborhood, and the two other sides are undeveloped. It wasn't a gameday, but it doesn't seem like the area is a catalyst for a rowdy football environment.
3. There are some grass fields around it that provide (relatively) ample room for tailgating.
4. Driving up to it, it's incredible unintimidating. It reminds me a lot of IU's stadium if that does anything for you. One of the endzones is open except for the scoreboard, there's space in between the grandstands on the sidelines and endzones. This makes me wonder how loud it can even get.
5. The first 20 or so rows are sunken like the Big House, but it doesn't have the size to compensate. This makes it look even smaller from the outside. The pressbox/club building is easily the biggest (and best) part, I give it a B for exterior aesthetics.
6. I didn't get a chance to take a tour, but the field looked mowed and didn't have any lines on it. I would then assume that it's real grass.
7. Aside from the IU comparison, it kind of reminded me of the high school stadium in the Friday Night Lights movie. Tony Drake and the other Texas players should feel right at home.
Overall, it's a nice looking stadium, but it really looks like an oversized Texas HS stadium or small soccer stadium overseas. I wonder if the players will have a hard time getting up for the game considering what they're used to.
For the record, I'm ok, with the game being scheduled out here as it's not too far from NYC, and there are a ton of alumni out here.
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