Pittsfield Plans to Add Soccer to Crane Park
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.
"It's really showing its wear," he said.
"The board system that bounds the rink is often tagged, and it's been painted 100 times, and portions of it are rotting. It's showing its age."
There would be some costs associated with site preparation, about $10,000, as U.S Soccer provides the system and labor for installation, which takes a few days, and leaves it in Pittsfield's ownership. McGrath has been in contact with a local funder who is excited about the project, and he is confident that the costs can be covered through philanthropy.
"So, what this means for the commission, what this means for the city, is that this is a project that costs us nothing," he said.
Draft grant and donation agreements have been reviewed by U.S. Soccer and the city's attorney, releasing liability to Pittsfield once it is built, and reserving the right for U.S. Soccer to use the mini pitch once a year if they choose.
The benefits, McGrath said, are to retire the rink's wooden boards that are showing age, to upgrade the surface of the facility, and meet a direct action in the Open Space and Recreation Plan. He pointed out that the urban soccer facility can also be used for inline hockey.
The commission discussed engaging nearby stakeholders with the project before it reaches the City Council through a community meeting in cooperation with the ward councilor.
To advance the proposal, it would be brought to the City Council as a gift to be accepted, and the city would work to schedule the installation and have a ribbon-cutting.
"It's kind of a straightforward project, and it doesn't radically change what we're doing at Crane Park," McGrath said.
Tags: parks commission, public parks, youth soccer,
