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With
City Council having given its approval for a 10-year lease of
Sand Creek Stadium, despite opposition from the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the
Colorado Springs Switchbacks broke ground on stadium improvements last week. In attendance were local luminaries like Mayor
Steve Bach, as well as owner
Ed Ragain and others involved in the construction process.
Roughly $2 million in upgrades are being overseen by
Populous, who have pretty much designed every sports stadium built in the last two decades, including the Arsenal Football Club's
Emirates Stadium. It will be built by
Bryan Construction and boast 3,500 seats, a press box, luxury suites and public Wi-Fi. The team already has Nike and Penrose-St. Francis Health Services as sponsors.
"One of the things that Ed told us early on was I want to design something that just speaks soccer — make it soccer," says Populous' Kevin O'Grady. "I don’t want to think about the concerts, I don’t want to think about the multi-use right now. Make it intimate, make it fun, make it interesting."
The team says fall should bring an exhibition announcement, jersey and mascot debuts, tryouts and signings.