What the pitch would look like in this screenshot from PCTV.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Crane Park may be in for an upgrade from the U.S. Soccer Foundation.

Last week, the Parks Commission endorsed a project to place a mini pitch over the aging, cracked concrete surface of the park's rink. Commissioners decided to speak with the surrounding neighborhood before a proposal is made to the City Council. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reported he is in the early stages of a grant approval with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, which is looking to install 20 mini-pitch facilities across Massachusetts in anticipation of the World Cup. The award is worth over $100,000 in materials and labor. 

"If we get the grant, and I'm pretty certain that we're going to get the grant if we want it, U.S. Soccer really likes the site, and they really want to site one in Western Massachusetts, they would come in, and they would build a 60 by 120 [foot] facility," he said. 

The facility would have a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together. It is regarded as a way to breathe life back into underutilized space, and U.S. Soccer plans to build them in the late summer and early fall. 

Crane Park sits at the corner of Springside Avenue and Benedict Road. 

McGrath said the inline street hockey rink has served the neighborhood well for about three decades, although it is not used for that sport so much anymore.   It recently had to be crack repaired due to safety concerns.