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 it is the largest metro of Connecticut. Because of the presence of a large number of insurance companies in this area, Hartford is also very commonly referred to as the Insurance capital of the world.
Among the oldest cities in the USA, Hartford is almost 400 years old and is also probably one of its wealthiest cities. Harford has gone onto have a facelift after a long period of stagnation incorporating new commercial ventures through residential and commercial developments, a brand 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 continues to be 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 the 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 it is an integral 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 proceeded to be called the Binghamton Whalers and also the Providence Reds finally settling on Hartford Wolf Pack. They have made considerable sports news by making to the playoffs for each and every of their eleven playing seasons. They won the Calder Cup in the 1999 -2000 season and consider it to be their best season so far.
Hartford also houses a rugby union club called the Hartford Wanderers. They were established in 1996 by a group from the University of Connecticut Law School. The groups main intention was to establish an organized social athletic club within the Hartford area. This club went onto producing four players that have gone onto play for the National Rugby Team named the United States Eagles. This club has additionally toured several countries such as England, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, Bermuda, Scotland as well as the Bahamas.
Hartford is additionally very involved in the field of college sports. They University of Connecticut has separate mens and womens basketball teams called the UConn Huskies. They play in the XL Centre situated in Hartford. The XL Centre is amongst 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 actually 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 in the town and promote non-vehicular transport inside the city.