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The new soccer facility at Hillside Park is at the site of a converted tennis court. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\nJonathan Pham has a new neighborhood place to play with his children.<\/p>\n
At Hillside Park, an elevated southside spot with a commanding view of downtown Fort Worth, officials unveiled a new corporate-sponsored soccer facility that Pham will bring his youngsters to.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will keep them occupied,\u201d the 32-year-old father of five said as his 5-year-old daughter Sophia, wearing a bright pink soccer jersey, ran around the park.<\/p>\n
On March 28, more than 100 people joined corporate and city officials to celebrate the grand opening of the Visa Street Soccer Park, one of five such facilities in the nation established before the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to North Texas this summer. The park is a partnership between Visa, Street Soccer USA, Bank of America and the city of Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
Pham said the park is a safe place for families to enjoy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSophia is excited,\u201d he said. \u201cI will bring my younger boys here when they are older.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new soccer facility at Hillside Park is at the site of a converted tennis court. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
The vibrantly painted park \u2014 once a tennis court \u2014 has two soccer fields with artificial turf, a financial education learning center and spaces for community activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lawrence Cann, founder and CEO of Street Soccer USA, a nonprofit that promotes the development of grassroots soccer programs, said the Hillside facility is intended to draw community members.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Visa Street Soccer Parks and Bank of America fields are designed to be hubs,\u201d Cann said. \u201cOur mission at Street Soccer is to strengthen communities through soccer. Youth sports have gotten so hard to participate in from an economic standpoint that we\u2019re trying to make soccer more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Pavell, Bank of America Fort Worth president, said the park is an ongoing program to promote youth soccer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very fortunate to have it here in Fort Worth,\u201d Pavell said. \u201cIt\u2019s really just a bigger part of what\u2019s going on with the World Cup coming to town. It\u2019s a lasting investment that will be here for the community once the final whistle is blown and the games are over.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event was more than just a ribbon cutting, said Gillian Breidenbach, chief partnership officer for FIFA World Cup 26 Dallas and founder of GB3 Consulting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to bring the world right here to our doorstep,\u201d she said. \u201cFort Worth reflects what makes Texas special \u2014 big hearted, welcoming and proud. That\u2019s exactly what the world is going to experience when they get here in a couple of months.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, center, along with community members and corporate sponsors, cut the ribbon for the grand opening of the Visa Street Soccer Park in the Hillside neighborhood. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Fort Worth City Council member Chris Nettles, who represents the area, said Hillside Park is a perfect spot for the soccer facility since it is an area where city investments have expanded in the historic neighborhood in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one of the great places in the city of Fort Worth that you can look out on the hill and see downtown Fort Worth as we are building it up here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Mattie Parker, who thanked the corporate sponsors for investing in Fort Worth, said residents from across the city will come to the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know today\u2019s a little bit rainy but I promise you in a few weeks you\u2019re going to see this park completely full of life,\u201d Parker said. \u201cYou\u2019ll have kids from every neighborhood that will get to see Hillside for the first time, get to have that view that Chris mentioned, and investments will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
She urged residents to vote in the $845 million bond election on May 2 to improve municipal facilities, including the Atatiana Carr-Jefferson Community Center at Hillside.<\/p>\n
Nettles, standing on the field as he spoke, said children would be inspired by the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you\u2019re standing on right now is somebody\u2019s dream that\u2019s going to come true,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to have an opportunity to stand right here and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n