The Philadelphia Union have teamed up with Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer, city officials and community members to open renovated athletic courts and a brand new soccer mini-pitch at the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center in Southwest Philadelphia.
The developments at the facility include a brand new, state-of-the-art mini pitch featuring a mural by Calo Rosa entitled “Unity Chant” in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, renovated tennis courts with new nets and updated fencing, as well as repainted and lined basketball courts with new backboards and rims.
The grand opening was celebrated at a Monday event at the F.J. Myers Recreation Center with a guest list that included Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney.
"When we first announced the Rebuild Initiative, we knew it would invigorate the Philadelphia community to join us in supporting vital public spaces,” mayor Kenney said in a Tuesday release. “The new soccer mini-pitch and renovated athletic courts are a shining example of what shared investment accomplishes. Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer and the Philadelphia Union Foundation are exemplary organizations that responded to the call to join us in ensuring the children of Philadelphia have state of the art spaces to play and grow.”
“The citizens of the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center community in Southwest Philadelphia have long deserved the improvements that the Rebuild initiative made possible,” city councilmember Kenyatta Johnson said. “The first phase of these renovations will give neighbors a place to come together, recreate and thrive. I look forward to the community continuing to engage in the design of the next phase of this project.”
The renovations are part of The Philadelphia Union Foundation's partnership with the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association and the city of Philadelphia that is set to commit more than one million dollars to build 15 mini soccer pitches and two full-size signature fields across Philadelphia.
More information on this new pitch and other Rebuild projects can be found here.
