Reno 1868 FC was an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 2015, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in March 2017 and ceased operations after the 2020 season.

History

Previously, northern Nevada has had three other professional minor league soccer teams:

Reno Rattlers The Reno Rattlers were an American soccer team based in Reno, Nevada from 1994 to 1998. The club began in the USISL and moved to the USL Second Division in 1995. The team moved up to the USISL Select League in 1996, but returned to the Pro League ...

Northern Nevada Aces The Northern Nevada Aces were an American soccer club founded in 2001 based in Reno, Nevada. The team played for two seasons in the now defunct USL D-3 Pro League (later known as the ''USL Second Division''), the third tier of the American soccer ...

, and Nevada Wonders. Nevertheless, Reno now has a large youth soccer base and growing popularity of the sport. On September 16, 2015, USL announced that they would expand to Reno, Nevada starting in 2017. The club would be owned by Herbert Simon. To generate interest and increased fan involvement with a successful acquisition of a team, the new "USL Reno 2017" team would be named through a contest. Over 5,300 entries were submitted during a lengthened initial contest portion, followed by fans choosing from amongst the top six names: Reno FC, FC Reno, Reno Silver FC, Reno City FC, Reno United, or Reno 1868. The fans response refined the contest down to three finalists—Reno FC, Reno United, and Reno 1868—with the winner being Reno 1868 Football Club, a nod to the founding year of the City of Reno. On June 29, 2016, Reno 1868 announced a two-year partnership with the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

of MLS. It was also stated that San Jose would have control over the technical side of the club. The team hired Earthquakes Assistant Coach Ian Russell as Head Coach on November 22, 2016. On February 10, 2018, San Jose and Reno announced an extension of their affiliate partnership deal through the end of the 2019 season, with an option for the 2020 season. The club won their first playoff match on October 20, 2018, in an away match at Real Monarchs. On November 6, 2020, the club announced it was ceasing operations as a result of the financial and operational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colors and crest

The colors of Reno 1868 FC were Nevada cobalt blue, silver grey, and light gold, all colors featured on the flag of Nevada. "With all home matches played on green grass, all of the colors of the flag will be represented on matchdays in Reno." Similar to the naming of the club, the color choices were fan-driven. Reno 1868's crest was released on May 25, 2016, with the first

kit Kit may refer to: Places *Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Cornwall, England People * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kit (surname) Animals * Young animals: ...

being released on June 11, 2016. SpineNevada, a local spine care facility, was the kit sponsor for the first two years before Reno Orthopedic Clinic ("ROC") took over sponsorship in 2019.

Kit suppliers and sponsors

Stadium

Reno 1868 FC played its home matches at Greater Nevada Field in Reno, Nevada, also home to the Reno Aces of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Greater Nevada Field (formerly known as Aces Ballpark) is a 9,013-seat natural grass stadium.

Team records

Year-by-year

1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

* Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Average attendance

References

External links

Reno 1868 FC
at United Soccer League {{United Soccer Leagues Association football clubs established in 2015 USL Championship teams Soccer clubs in Nevada 2015 establishments in Nevada 2020 disestablishments in Nevada Association football clubs disestablished in 2020