Total Mortgage Arena Set To Forgo All Sports After Bridgeport Islanders Relocate
- Dominic Konareski
- 59 minutes ago
- 2 min read
For the second time in a decade, the state of Connecticut and the city of Bridgeport are faced with what to do with their waterfront arena.
Total Mortgage Arena (formally Webster Bank Arena) was home to the Bridgeport Islanders for 25 years, giving lower Connecticut New York AHL-affiliated hockey. The New York Islanders affiliate relocated to Hamiliton, Ontario, Canada, at the conclusion of the 2025/26 AHL season, which saw the team make the playoffs.
Since the Islanders left, becoming the Hamilton Hammers, the arena has sat vacant since April. The city of Bridgeport now is weighing all options and proposals from developers and venue managers on what to do with it.
The city is reportedly working with the state economic development agency, as the ultimate goal is to land a tenant for at least a 10-year run through to 2036 or 2037. Bridgeport Islanders hockey was one of the biggest attractions for the city of Bridgeport and provided a chance for Islanders fans to view the upcoming New York stars or rehab assignments without traveling to UBS Arena.
Overall though, bringing in a tenant that would allow the arena and the city to retain the property’s status as a significant public attraction are all gone. When not hosting over 30 AHL home games during the hockey season, the arena has been used by other sporting events such as Monster Jam and PBR. Concerts and on-ice events have been held at the arena, with the Foo Fighters playing there less than 60 days ago.
According to the Connecticut Post, developer Howard Saffan has put forward an $80 million plan to break up the 10,000 seat arena space into smaller venues for other kinds of events, completely forgoing ice and sports altogether.
Just a few hundred feet away next door to the arena is the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, which sits over 70,000 and is suited more towards summer concerts. The Amphitheater (formally known as Harbor Yard), was renovated from a baseball diamond after the Bridgeport Bluefish became defunct after the 2017 season.
The nearest (and most recent) comparisons to look at for Connecticut arena troubles are the New Haven Coliseum and the Hartford Civic Center. The Coliseum, which was slightly larger than Total Mortgage Arena, was closed 24-years ago and later imploded. The Civic Center was at risk of being closed before a recent $145 million renovation and got rebranded as PeoplesBank Arena.
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