The capital city of Connecticut is Hartford. Hartford is the second largest city within the state of Connecticut, Bridge port being ranked the very first. Hartford features a population of 1,188,841 and is also the largest metro of Connecticut. Because of the presence of a large number of insurance companies in this area, Hartford is also very commonly called the Insurance capital on the planet.
Among the oldest cities in the United States, Hartford is almost 400 years old and is also probably among its wealthiest cities. Harford proceeded to go onto have a facelift after a long period of stagnation incorporating new commercial ventures through commercial and residential developments, a new convention centre, a hotel, a state of the art science centre along with a reclaimed riverfront. A large number of developments have happened 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. Known as the Hartford Wolf Pack, this team plays professional ice hockey and is a 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 known as the Binghamton Rangers and went on to be known as the Binghamton Whalers as well as the Providence Reds finally settling on Hartford Wolf Pack. They’ve already 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 to be their finest season to date.
Hartford also houses a rugby union club known as the Hartford Wanderers. They were established in 1996 by a group in the University of Connecticut Law School. The groups main intention was to establish an organized social athletic club in the Hartford area. This club has gone onto producing four players who have gone onto play for the National Rugby Team named the United States Eagles. This club has additionally 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 participate in the XL Centre located in Hartford. The XL Centre is one of the largest college basketball arenas within the United Sates ranking 28th. Initially it was 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 it has been taken by the Central Connecticut Bicycling Association as a way to promote cycling within the town and promote non-vehicular transport inside the city.