Sports

Founded by football coach John Dillon, Dillon Stadium was the home of two minor league football teams in the 1960s and 70s: the Hartford Charter Oaks, owned by the Brewer family, and the Hartford Knights. Dillon is now used primarily for high school football teams, including the Bulkeley Bulldogs, the Sport Medical Tigers, the Prince Tech Falcons, and the Capitol Prep Trailblazers. Dillon also hosts the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Game between Hartford Public Owls and the Weaver Beavers.

In 1975, the Hartford Bicentennials

Connecticut Bicentennials

The Hartford Bicentennials was a soccer team based out of Hartford, Connecticut that played in the North American Soccer League. The team played at Dillon Stadium....

 soccer team joined the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 and played their home matches at Dillon Stadium. After two seasons in Hartford (and drawing less than 4,000 fans a game), the club moved to the Yale Bowl

Yale Bowl

The Yale Bowl is a football stadium in New Haven, Connecticut on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles west of Yale's main campus. Completed in 1914, the stadium seats 61,446, reduced by renovations from the original capacity of 70,869...

 in New Haven

New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

 in 1977.

The Hartford Colonials of the United Football League

United Football League

United Football League may refer to:*United Football League , an association football league in the Philippines.*United Football League , an American football league which operated from 1961 to 1964...

, in part because of a change of management at Rentschler Field, experienced significant delays in renewing their lease for the 2011 season and had backup plans to relocate to Dillon Stadium (or Willow Brook Park

New Britain Stadium

New Britain Stadium is the home of the New Britain Rock Cats, the AA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major league baseball team. Opened in 1996, it seats 6,146 fans....

), although neither venue was believed to be ideal for the UFL. The Colonials did sign a deal with Rentschler in June, but suspended operations on August 10, 2011; it is not known if the team will return in 2012.

Concerts

On June 27, 1966, The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 played in Dillon Stadium, supported by The McCoys

The McCoys

The McCoys were a rock group that started in Union City, Indiana, in 1962.-Career:The original members, all from Union City, were guitarist Richard Zehringer , his brother Randy on drums, and bassist Dennis Kelly. This first line-up was known as The Rick Z Combo, and later known as Rick and the...

 (with their up-and-coming guitarist, Rick Derringer

Rick Derringer

Rick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.-1960s:When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys recorded "Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song in America before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was...

). Near the end of the Stones' performance, fans rushed the stage, so electricity to the amplifiers was cut. Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....

 threw his microphone stand out into the crowd and the Stones then left the venue, as fans began breaking chairs. Police gathered the crowd towards the exits.

The Beach Boys performed there in 1965.
On July 16, 1972, the Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...

 played in Dillon Stadium and were joined on stage by Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley and Jai Johanny Johanson of the Allman Brothers.