''"Martin 'Ed' Ragain Field"'' is a 5,000-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 ...

built in

Colorado Springs, Colorado 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 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

. At an altitude of roughly 6,600 feet above sea-level, the stadium had the highest elevation of any primary home stadium used by a professional team in the

American soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...

through the 2020 season. The stadium is immediately adjacent to UCHealth Park. 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 ...

were awarded a USL Pro franchise (now known as 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 ...

) in December 2013. On June 14, 2014, the Colorado Springs City Council approved an agreement that gave the Switchbacks a ten-year lease on the site with the right to sell naming rights in exchange for a $3M investment into facility improvements. On March 7, 2016, Sand Creek Stadium had a new name proposal approved by the City of Colorado Springs changing the name to "Switchbacks Stadium". This helped avoid confusion with the name of the nearby Sand Creek High School and its stadium. On February 14, 2017, Weidner Apartment Homes purchased the stadium naming rights for an undisclosed amount, and the stadium was renamed Weidner Field. In 2021, the Switchbacks opened a new 8,000 seat stadium in Downtown Colorado Springs. Ed Ragain and Dean Weidner formed a new partnership to build the stadium, run the team, and operate the facility. Weidner Apartment Homes also purchased the naming rights for the new stadium creating two facilities with the same name in Colorado Springs, Weidner Field. On June 24, 2022, the City of Colorado Springs renamed 6303 Barnes Rd stadium to "Martin 'Ed' Ragain Field" to commemorate the work and investment made by Ed Ragain and family.

References

External links

Switchbacks WebsiteWeidner Apartment HomesWeidner Field
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Sports venues in Colorado Springs, Colorado Soccer venues in Colorado Tourist attractions in Colorado Springs, Colorado 1985 establishments in Colorado Sports venues completed in 1985 USL Championship stadiums {{Colorado-stadium-stub