Eighty-six years to the day after ground was broken for Pratt and Whitney's East Hartford campus, company executives and workers and state and local officials gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new 425,000-square-foot global headquarters and engineering facility.
Governor Dannel Malloy told those gathered for the event that the state tax credits helping make the building possible will help Pratt and Whitney keep Connecticut an aerospace leader. In his words, “It secures the future, the innovation that will take place in Connecticut as opposed to someplace else.”
Malloy said not only jobs at the jet engine maker, but also some 75,000 Connecticut jobs at businesses in Pratt and Whitney’s supply chain will be supported by the new building.
"Know that the future is bright. Know that in just a matter of months, more engines will be manufactured in the state of Connecticut that at any time since 1983," Malloy said.
At the groundbreaking, Pratt and Whitney and the University of Connecticut announced that when the UConn Huskies open their home football season against Villanova on September 3, the Huskies will have a new name: instead of Rentschler Field, it will be Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.
The announcement came within sight of the stadium itself, and UConn President Susan Herbst said it’s a sign of the close ties and shared history of the company and the school.
"Pratt and Whitney isn’t just an important global company based here in Connecticut. It’s a long-term UConn partner that does cutting-edge work which corresponds perfectly with our commitment to building UConn’s reputation as a world-class, 21st-century international research institution," Herbst said.
As part of the stadium agreement, Pratt and Whitney parent United Technologies Corporation will give the state ten more acres of land for stadium parking and an easement for use of an additional 15 acres of parking.
The stadium naming rights will be extended through 2030.