The Webster Bank Arena (formerly The Arena at Harbor Yard) is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena at 600 Main Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut, built alongside the now demolished The Ballpark at Harbor Yard.
The arena opened on October 10, 2001, and is managed by Oak View Group.
Webster Bank entered into a 10-year $3.5 million agreement with the City of Bridgeport for naming rights of the arena on January 6, 2011.
The arena houses 33 executive suites, 1,300 club seats, 3 hospitality suites and a Sony Jumbotron serving as a scoreboard.
The arena offers luxury boxes to corporate sponsors.
The arena is home to the Bridgeport Islanders (originally the Sound Tigers) of the American Hockey League.
Since 2008, the Fairfield University men's and women's basketball teams play select games at the arena.
Starting in 2013, the arena hosted regular season Connecticut Huskies men's and women's basketball games.
The UConn men's hockey team, a new member of Hockey East, were also scheduled to play five regular season games in Bridgeport during the 2014–15 season.
College sports
Fairfield Stags basketball
thumb|left|250px|Fairfield Stags basketball setup Webster Bank Arena is home to the Fairfield Stags men's and women's college basketball teams representing Fairfield University.
Fairfield is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) where the Stags annually compete against perennial MAAC powers including the Iona Gaels, the 1995 and 2004 NCAA Tournament Cinderella Manhattan Jaspers, the Niagara Purple Eagles, and the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Tournament Cinderella Siena Saints.
The arena was the site of the men's two postseason appearances in the National Invitation Tournament.
During the first round of the 2003 National Invitation Tournament, the Stags, led by the nation's blocked shots leader Deng Gai and Nick Delfico played the Boston College Eagles featuring future NBA players Troy Bell and Craig Smith.
During the second round of the 2011 National Invitation Tournament, the Stags, led by head coach Ed Cooley and Derek Needham played the Kent State Golden Flashes.
In recent years, Fairfield has brought several perennial national college basketball powers to the arena including the Georgetown Hoyas, Providence Friars and St. Joseph's Hawks.
Connecticut 6 Classic
The Arena at Harbor Yard hosted the inaugural Connecticut 6 Classic, a men's college basketball tripleheader featuring Connecticut's six mid-major teams, on November 13, 2009.Connecticut's 6 Website The Sacred Heart Pioneers defeated the Yale Bulldogs 92–86 in the tip-off game of the night.
The Fairfield Stags defeated the Central Connecticut Blue Devils 67–58 in game two, and the night concluded with the Quinnipiac Bobcats defeating the Hartford Hawks 85–74.
MAAC basketball tournaments
thumb|right|250px|2011 MAAC Tournament The arena and Fairfield University along with the City of Bridgeport and the Fairfield County Sports Commission have hosted the MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships two times.
The MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships features all 20 of the league's teams competing for an automatic berth in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship.
In 2007, the Niagara Purple Eagles defeated the Siena Saints to win the 2007 MAAC Men's Basketball Championships and the Marist Red Foxes defeated the Iona Gaels to win the 2007 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship.
And in 2011, the St. Peter's Peacocks defeated the Iona Gaels to win the 2011 MAAC Men's Basketball Championships and the Marist Red Foxes defeated the Loyola Greyhounds to win the 2011 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship.
NCAA basketball tournaments
The arena and Fairfield University along with the City of Bridgeport and the Fairfield County Sports Commission have brought the First and Second Rounds of NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship to the arena three times since 2004.
The 2004 Tournament featured the Auburn Tigers, Connecticut Huskies, Penn Quakers, and North Carolina State Wolfpack.
The Connecticut Huskies defeated the Auburn Tigers to win the 2004 Bridgeport Regional en route to winning the 2004 Tournament and being crowned National Champions.
The 2006 Tournament featured the Connecticut Huskies, Duke Blue Devils, Georgia Bulldogs, and Michigan State Spartans.
The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Connecticut Huskies to win the 2006 Bridgeport Regional before advancing to the Final Four of the 2006 Tournament.
And the 2008 Tournament featured the Connecticut Huskies, Cornell Big Red, Minnesota Gophers, and Texas Longhorns.
The Connecticut Huskies defeated the Texas Longhorns to win the 2008 Bridgeport Regional before advancing to the Final Four of the 2008 Tournament.
The arena was the site of the Bridgeport Subregional during the 2012 Tournament and the Bridgeport Regional for the 2013 Tournament, 2016 Tournament, and 2017 Tournament.
NCAA hockey tournaments
The arena has joined Fairfield University and Yale University in co-hosting the East Regional of the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship three times.
The 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament featured the Air Force Falcons, Michigan Wolverines, Vermont Catamounts, and Yale Bulldogs.Stags on Ice: Hockey descends on Bridgeport, CT; Fairfield University Co-hosts The Vermont Catamounts won a dramatic double overtime game against the Air Force Falcons to win the East Regional and advance to the 2009 Frozen Four.
The 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament featured the Air Force Falcons, Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, Union Dutchmen, and Yale Bulldogs.
The eventual 2011 National Champion Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs upset the top seeded Yale Bulldogs to win the East Regional and advance to the 2011 Frozen Four.
In 2012, the Union Dutchmen defeated UMass Lowell Riverhawks to advance to the Frozen Four.
The arena hosted again in 2014.
Most recently, in 2018, the top-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat the second-seeded Providence Friars to win the East Regional; the Michigan Tech Huskies and Clarkson Golden Knights also participated.
Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey
The arena has served as the home venue for the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team since the 2016–17 season.
Prior to the 2016-17 season, the Pioneers had hosted select games each year at the Arena since the 2010-11 season.https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/x/c/mq3kbm8h3l2ize/MHOC_All-Time_Results_2019.pdf/ During the 2019-20 season, the Pioneers were the hosts of the inaugural Connecticut Ice college hockey tournament, an in-season weekend tournament played at the Arena featuring matchups between the four NCAA Division 1 men's ice hockey programs in the State of Connecticut: the UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team, the Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team, the Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team, and the Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team.
Sacred Heart would go on to win the championship game over Quinnipiac by a score of 4-1.
The Pioneers are expected to move for the 2022-23 season upon the completion of a 4,000-seat arena at the Sacred Heart University West Campus in Fairfield, CT.
Park City SportsFest
In conjunction with Webster Bank Arena hosting the MAAC and NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments, the Park City SportsFest has become an annual tradition in downtown Bridgeport.
SportsFest is a free, multi-venue fan festival.
During SportsFest, the City of Bridgeport closes off a portion of Main Street from its intersection with State Street to the arena in order to house the events.
The SportsFest is organized by the Fairfield County Sports Commission and presented by People's United Bank.
Professional sports
Bridgeport Sound Tigers/Islanders
Webster Bank Arena is home to the Bridgeport Islanders, a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the affiliate of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The team was known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers from 2001 to 2021.
The Sound Tigers joined the AHL in 2001 and the first event at the arena was a Sound Tigers game on October 10, 2001.
The franchise's lease at Webster Bank Arena runs through the 2021 season.
During their inaugural season, the Sound Tigers won a division championship and made the Calder Cup Finals where they lost to the Chicago Wolves four games to one.
NHL preseason hockey
On September 30, 2006, the Arena at Harbor Yard hosted an National Hockey League (NHL) preseason game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders.
The Islanders defeated the Devils, 3–0.
And on October 1, 2011, the Arena at Harbor Yard hosted an NHL preseason game between the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders, where the Bruins defeated the Islanders 3–2.
On October 3, 2014, the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders played an preseason game at Webster Bank Arena.
On October 1, 2016, the arena host another Islanders preseason game against the Washington Capitals.
On September 22, 2017, the Islanders hosted the Rangers in a preseason game.
Webster Bank Arena served as the pre-season home for the Islanders for the 2021-22 season, as the team awaited the completion of their new permanent home, UBS Arena, in Elmont, New York, which is located behind  the Belmont Park Racetrack and scheduled to open on November 20, 2021.
NBA preseason basketball
On October 18, 2003, the Arena at Harbor Yard hosted an National Basketball Association (NBA) preseason game between the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors.
The Nets defeated the Raptors 93–77.
On October 15, 2005, the Arena at Harbor Yard also hosted a preseason game between the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks.
The Knicks defeated the Nets 93–84 in the contest.
International basketball
Special events
Gymnastics
On November 12, 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions.
Mixed martial arts
On August 24, 2019, Bellator 225 was hosted at Webster Bank with the headliner being Mitrione vs. Kharitonov 2.
President Obama rally
On October 30, 2010, the President of the United States Barack Obama joined Democratic Party candidates, including former Stamford Mayor and candidate for Governor Dan Malloy, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Jim Himes at a "Moving America Forward Rally" at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Pro wrestling
On June 1, 2019, NXT TakeOver: XXV took place from Webster Bank Arena.
See also
List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
References
External links
Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yards - Main Website
RinkAtlas listing for Webster Bank Arena
