Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport Renamed to Total Mortgage Arena
The home of the Bridgeport Islanders has a new name. In a year with almost everything regarding the Islanders’ AHL affiliate seeming to change, their Bridgeport home formerly known as Webster Bank Arena for the last 11 years, is now named Total Mortgage Arena.
Total Mortgage is a mortgage lending company that is accredited in 48 states headquartered in Milford, CT, just miles from Bridgeport. Milford is where most of the AHL Islanders live while playing in Bridgeport.
In 2011, Webster Bank had secured a 10-year naming rights deal with the arena, which was formerly known as the Arena at Harbor Yard, the name matching up with the name with the now-defunct Ballpark at Harbor Yard.
The newly-named Total Mortgage Arena has been open for 20 years now. In one of its first marquee events with the new name, the arena hosted the 2022 Bridgeport Region for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, in which UConn defeated NC State to win the region in front of a sold-out crowd, the largest since 2018 at the arena.
In a statement, Islanders owner Jon Ledecky said, “We’re excited to welcome Total Mortgage as our new naming rights partner in Bridgeport,” Oak View Group is the current operator of the arena, they operate many arenas across North America.
As the Bridgeport Islanders gear up for a late-season playoff push, renovations continue around the arena. The formerly named Harbor Club, which sat on the site of the original Bridgeport Sound Tigers front office, has been split in half, as new offices were built in the second half of the club, moving the team’s offices back to where they originally were. The Islanders’ locker room has been reportedly renovated and turned into what Brent Thompson called “one of the best in the league”. As for the Bridgeport Islanders, they are looking for a new President as Brent Rossi left the team in early 2022 after 2 1/2 turbulent seasons with the franchise, undergoing a lot of change.
As the arena heads into a new era, along with the main tenant in the Bridgeport Islanders, we will see how the next ten years turn out, with a new name and a new ten year lease for the Islanders.
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A Native of Danbury, CT. Christian is one of the longest tenured Drive4Five writers, Christian Gardecki began writing for Drive4five In May of 2017. Christian covers Minor League Hockey and the Bridgeport Islanders for Drive4Five. Outside of Drive4Five, Christian was the captain of his High School Hockey team and currently attends Hofstra University with a major in journalism. Christian was the play by play broadcaster for the Danbury Westerners summer collegiate baseball team during their 2021 NECBL Championship. Christian also was the Public Address Announcer for the Danbury Hat Tricks Minor Pro Hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and NAHL Junior team from 2019-21.
