With registration numbers for youth soccer falling across the country, a lack of access to fields is an issue that needs to be addressed.
The 2019 Major League Soccer (MLS) season kicked off last weekend. Some of the best men’s players our country has produced – including Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard – all played in the MLS at one point during their careers.
The odds of being the next Christian Pulisic or Weston McKennie are always long. But how about the outcome of having more and more kids playing for fun, for health and to be more life ready through sport?
I serve as President and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, an organization committed to closing the Play Equity Gap and giving youth equal access to sport. LA84 recently commissioned a survey looking at youth participation in sports in LA County. For the second consecutive two-year period measured, soccer was the sport played by the most number of kids.
That said, are there worrying soccer trends afoot? A recent study by the Sports and Fitness Industry (SFIA) found that the number of 6-to-12-year-olds playing outdoor soccer across the country has declined by nearly 14 percent since 2015.
The rising cost of youth sports is a factor. Soccer is now the fifth most expensive sport to play, which means children from lower-income households are at a disadvantage.
The SFIA study also shows that 35 percent of soccer players come from households with an average income of more than $100,000 (proportionately, that percentage should be about 30), while just 11 percent come from families with an income of less than $25,000. (Proportionally, that percentage should be about double.)
Another big factor, here in Los Angeles, is that green space and park space are scarce, which means there is a lack of room and infrastructure for children to play. Los Angeles placed No. 66 in a 2018 report ranking the 100 largest U. S. cities based on how close residents live to parks. Perhaps that isn’t surprising considering the astronomical land prices here, with the average cost of an acre in L. A.-Long Beach being $2.6 million, skyrocketing to $16 million per acre in central areas.
Combine these factors and what do you get? Not enough soccer fields. In 2016, research showed that there are only four soccer fields for every 100,000 people in Los Angeles County parks. So, how can new or improved soccer fields be created? There are a handful of ways we’ve seen of late.
In 2015, the LA Parks Foundation spearheaded a $10.5 million effort to renovate the 26-acres Ferraro Fields soccer complex. This project – funded heavily by the LA84 Foundation and others – resulted in 171,000 youth having access to the soccer fields year-round, an increase from 7,500 from before the project was completed.
In 2016, the city of Rancho Cucamonga partnered with privately owned Goals Soccer Center to complete a $5 million, 4.17-acre facility that features 10 all-weather synthetic turf fields. Previously, two full-length fields were situated on the land.
In the city of Carson, the Kimmelman Family Foundation is partnering with the USTA Foundation and Tiger Woods’ TGR Foundation to create an 80-acre community sports and education center. Construction is estimated to cost $60-$100 million and is slated to begin in 2020 on part of what has been a struggling public golf course. Two full-sized artificial turf fields, two natural grass multipurpose fields and six full-sized natural grass fields are included in the plans.
Soccer fields, baseball diamonds, basketball courts and a playground are among the highlights of the Rio de Los Angeles State Park, in Los Angeles. More than a decade ago, California State Parks purchased with millions of dollars from a bond measure, this 247-acre former rail yard turned abandoned property.
These types of large-scale expensive projects are not feasible to produce in every corner of this or other cities, but that doesn’t mean public and private organizations cannot get creative.
The rise of futsal highlights how using smaller spaces can be effective.
