Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

, the second tier of the

American soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

. The franchise is owned by Martin E Ragain and Dean Weidner. The franchise is operated by the Ragain family.

History

The Ragain Family was awarded
USL Pro franchise
on December 5, 2013, with plans to begin play in 2015. The team's name, the "Switchbacks", was announced on January 31, 2014, following a fan contest. The team hired Steve Trittschuh as head coach on March 11, 2014.

Luke Vercollone Luke Vercollone (born April 4, 1982 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is a former American soccer player who previously played for Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the United Soccer League. Career Youth and College Vercollone grew up in Pembroke, Massa ...

was the first player signed by Colorado Springs in October 2014. The Ragain Family chose Colorado Springs in large part because of th
City for Champions
vision by city leaders which included a downtown stadium concept that needed a champion of its own. Steve Trittschuh and Luke Vercollone lead Colorado Springs to two immediate post season appearances in 2015 and 2016. A talented 2017 roster did not qualify for the playoffs followed by increasingly challenging league competitions through 2020 as the USL Championship grew. In July 2019, the Switchbacks and Trittschuh parted ways naming Assistant Coach Wolde Harris the interim Head Coach. On September 23, Switchbacks announced the selection of Alan Koch as the next Head Coach. Koch's leadership of the team was cut short by Covid 19 and a restructuring of the 2020 season thereafter returning to Canada. A stabilizing limited affiliation between the Switchbacks and

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

between 2019 and 2021 provided the club with additional technical resources and staff including Brian Crookham that aided the transitioning club. The Switchbacks next looked to

Brendan Burke Brendan Gilmore Burke (December 8, 1988 – February 5, 2010) was an athlete and student manager at Miami University for the RedHawks men's ice hockey team. The youngest son of Brian Burke, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, lo ...

from the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...

as Head Coach to lead the club in its transition downtown beginning a new phase for the franchise. Switchbacks rebranded by simplifying the original logo and colors. Burke quickly went to work restructuring the team making a 2021 playoff appearance in his first season. Player Hadji Barry tied the Championship league record for total goals scored at 25 goals earning the leagues Golden Boot award. 2022 saw the best start in franchise history both on and off the field tying the league record with 5 wins before defeat.

Stadium

The team opened

Weidner Field Weidner Field is a soccer-specific stadium located in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. Having opened on April 24, 2021, it is home to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC who compete in the second level of U.S. men's professio ...

( Perkins & Will Architects), a new 8,000-seat downtown stadium, for the 2021 season. Plans for the stadium were officially announced by the City of Colorado Springs in July 2018. Construction began on December 7, 2019. The stadium cost was $47 million and funded by team ownership and Regional Tourism Act / City for Champions tax increment financing. On October 15, 2020, the name "Weidner Field" was officially transferred from the team's old stadium in eastern Colorado Springs to the new downtown venue. In 2014, Sand Creek Stadium (now officially known as Martin E Ragain Field) received a $3.5 million renovation by Martin E Ragain
Populous
architects) after signing a 10-year lease with the City of Colorado Springs to meet league minimum stadium criteria for franchises. Located at roughly 6,500 feet above sea level, the stadium was at the highest elevation of any primary home stadium for a professional team in the

. This status will transfer to the new Weidner Field, although it sits at a lower altitude of 6,035 feet.

Year-by-year

Current roster

Staff

* Martin Ragain – owner * Nick Ragain – president *

– head coach * James Chambers – assistant coach * Stephen Hogan – assistant coach * Alan McCann – performance & technical analyst

References

External links

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
{{Colorado Springs Articles with hCards 2013 establishments in Colorado Association football clubs established in 2013 S Sports in Colorado Springs, Colorado USL Championship teams