Weidner Field is an 8,000-seat

soccer-specific stadium A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium whic ...

located in downtown

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

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. It opened on April 24, 2021, and is home to the

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional Association football, soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference in the USL Champions ...

who compete in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

, the second level of U.S. men's professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. The stadium is situated at an altitude of above sea level and has the highest elevation of any stadium used by a professional team in the American soccer pyramid. While designed for soccer, the stadium is capable of hosting other types of events, such as concerts, being able to reach a capacity as high as 15,000. The stadium replaces former Weidner Field, now known as Martin 'Ed' Ragain Field, a smaller venue in the east of the city.

Development

The stadium was part of a collection of projects led by the City of Colorado Springs, which included renovations to the US Olympic & Paralympic Museum, Ed Robson Arena, William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center, and

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Visitor Center. Weidner Field was designed to energize the downtown area, spur adjacent real estate investment, increase tourism, and bring a sprawling community together. Plans for the new stadium were officially unveiled in July 2018. Design details were revealed in July 2019, and the ceremonial groundbreaking took place that December. Naming rights are held by Weidner Apartment Homes, an owner of the club and sponsored the naming rights for the former stadium. The "Weidner Field" name was officially transferred from the old stadium to the new venue on October 15, 2020.

Amenities

The stadium includes many unique elements, including a supporters section behind the south endline called "Base Camp," VIP suites, and a video board. The most iconic feature of the stadium is the statue of

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that symbolizes the city's nickname as the Olympic City. Titled "The Epicenter" and costing $4.5 million to construct, the statue weighs around 64,000 pounds, and is 35-foot tall, 65-foot in diameter, and constructed with stainless steel. It's located near the main entrance, and lights up at night with LEDs. In addition, Weidner Field has one of the first "Corkonut" turf fields approved by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. Constructed at a cost of $750,000, the field uses coconut fibers and cork infill; it is the first of its kind to be approved in the world for professional soccer use. Other than parking, the free downtown ZEB bus shuttle has a stop that allows fans access to the stadium via public transportation.

Events

Soccer

The stadium has been the home of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC of the USL Championship since the 2021 USL Championship season. The first soccer-related event at the stadium was an exhibition match against Orange County SC, in front of a reduced capacity of 2,000 due to

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restrictions. The first player to score in the stadium's professional history was Hadji Barry, who scored five minutes into a 2–2 draw. Other than professional soccer matches, the stadium also hosts both regional and state-level high school soccer competitions.

Major competitions

In December 2021, Weidner Field held host to the 2021 NCAA Division II men's soccer tournament. On November 23, 2024, Weidner Field hosted the 2024 USL Championship final, where the Switchbacks played against Rhode Island FC, resulting in a 3–0 Switchbacks win for their first title.

Concerts

Weidner Field has a capacity of 15,000 for concerts. The stadium's first concert event was in May 27, 2021, a Latin music festival, followed the next day by a concert that included Justin Moore and Chris Janson. Other notable performers who've played at Weidner Field includes AJR,

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, and the

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, amongst others.

Gallery

File:Weidner Field construction 2020-12-15 110920.jpg, Club level seats under construction in December, 2020 File:Weidner Field construction 2020-08-24 133324.jpg, Main grandstand under construction File:Weidner Field construction 2021-01-14 105849.jpg, Construction on the field File:Weidner Field construction 2020-09-04 102321.jpg, Frontal view of the main grandstands under construction

References

External links

Official website
{{USL Venues Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Sports venues in Colorado Springs, Colorado Tourist attractions in Colorado Springs, Colorado Soccer venues in Colorado Sports venues completed in 2021 USL Championship stadiums Premier Lacrosse League venues 2021 establishments in Colorado