We hit a big milestone on the construction of a new Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC stadium, as the USL Championship team and the city marked the installation of the last piece of structural steel with a topping-out ceremony.
As is the tradition with a topping-out ceremony, a tree was attached to that last beam as it was raised into place. The new stadium, set to open for the USL Championship 2021 season, is part of the larger City for Champions initiative. The stadium will seat just over 8,000 for soccer matches, with that figure expandable to as much as 15,000 for events such as concerts. A mixed-use development component is also part of the project, as Weidner Apartment Homes will develop an apartment building overlooking the stadium. It will replace the 5,000-seat Weidner Field as the club’s home. From KOAA:
“It’s a lifelong dream, it’s a family business to some degree and we’ve been dreaming about this project for a long, long time,” Switchbacks FC owner Ed Ragain said.
The organization allowed fans to sign the blue beam before it was installed, and a tree was placed atop the piece of metal as a symbol of good luck and prosperity.
“I’m really really excited about this,” [Colorado Springs Mayor John] Suthers said. “I’m a sports fan, I’ve always dreamed of a downtown stadium, I think a lot of people have dreamed about a downtown stadium. Here we are, it’s getting pretty close to reality.”
The new stadium is one of several new or renovated USL Championship stadiums set to open in 2021. Work also continues at the $40-million renovation of Mecklenburg County’s American Legion Memorial Stadium, planned as home to the Charlotte Independence. There are also new stadium projects still in the works, including a new downtown Pawtucket development, a new OKC Energy stadium and a new Des Moines stadium. A proposed Concord (CA) development anchored by a new 18,000-seat USL Championship stadium has been scrapped, and the Des Moines stadium has been delayed by a year.
Photo courtesy Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
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