Location: Diamond Valley Drive off Eastman Park Drive, Windsor, Colo. (map it using Google Maps)
Opened: 2022
Home team: Northern Colorado Owlz, Pioneer League (2022-present); Northern Colorado Hailstorm, USL League One (2022-present)
Capacity: 6,000 (2,800 fixed seats)
The Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League had already decided that 2020 would be their last season playing at Utah Valley University. When the season was scratched due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club focused on making a move to a new facility in northern Colorado. The decision by MLB to change the league’s status to that of an independent partner league changed the situation slightly. The Boise Hawks, who had been left out of the MLB restructuring of the minors, joined the Pioneer League, and the Owlz took the 2021 season off in order to get their new park finished in Windsor, east of Fort Collins. As it happens, the park failed to open in time for the 2022 season.
The new facility is adjacent to Diamond Valley Park, an existing city park for youth sports, creating what the developers hope will become a sports Mecca in the region. A minor league soccer club is also going to utilize the Future Legends Complex, which is about seven miles east of I-25.
Once I attend a game, photos and a fuller review will be posted.