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January 8, 2025

Large crowds expected for volleyball, hockey events in Hartford this weekend

Contributed A photo from a previous New England Winterfest Volleyball Tournament at the Connecticut Convention Center.
By Andrew Larson

Large crowds are expected in and around downtown Hartford this weekend for major events at the XL Center and Connecticut Convention Center.

On Saturday, the city will celebrate its 50th anniversary of professional hockey with a series of events honoring the legacy of the Hartford Whalers, including a celebration at the Wolf Pack game, which starts at 7 p.m. at the XL Center.

Also, the Connecticut Convention Center, located at 100 Columbus Blvd., will host the 2025 Nike New England Winterfest Volleyball Tournament starting on Saturday and Sunday.

Over the course of three weekends, the tournament is expected to draw 30,000 visitors to the city, including 730 youth volleyball teams from across the Northeast and Canada.

As part of the hockey anniversary celebration, a documentary film, “The Whalers,” will premiere at Cinestudio at Trinity College at 2 p.m.

There will also be a Hartford hockey history self-guided tour around the Old State House.

Professional hockey's roots in Hartford trace back to Jan. 11, 1975, when the New England Whalers played at the newly opened Hartford Civic Center, the original name of the venue now known at the XL Center.

The team became the Hartford Whalers for the 1979-80 season. The team left Hartford after the 1996-97 season and became the Carolina Hurricanes.
 
For the volleyball tournament, the largest draw will be on Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20, when more than 260 teams and 3,000 female athletes, from ages 15 to 18, compete in the Open/USA/American competition.

The final weekend is Jan. 25 to Jan. 26, which will feature more than 2,700 female athletes across 230 teams, competing in nine age group divisions.

“This year’s tournament will be our largest ever in the Connecticut Convention Center, as we will use the entire Exhibit Hall and, for the first time ever, the ballrooms all three weekends, and we still are waitlisting teams,” said Roxann Link, junior commissioner of the New England Region Volleyball Association Inc.

Players will compete on 31 courts, with 12 matches per court most days, each lasting about an hour. The public is invited to attend.

The volleyball tournament is expected to generate about $10.9 million in revenue for hotels, restaurants, shops and other attractions, according to Robert Murdock, president of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTMEETINGS), the state’s official meetings and sports event sales and marketing organization. 

Also, he estimated that 3,196 jobs in the region’s hospitality industry will be supported by the event, and $712,461 in tax revenue will be generated for the state.

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