LouCity & Racing Foundation partners with U.S. Soccer Foundation, city to open new mini-pitch

September 20, 2024

Louisville now has more access to soccer thanks to a freshly completed project spearheaded by the LouCity & Racing Foundation, the U.S. Soccer Foundation and Louisville Parks and Recreation.

The three organizations, with funding from the Kentucky Association of Health Plans, teamed up to create a soccer mini-pitch at Russell Lee Park, the recreational space beside the Southwick Community Center in Louisville’s Park Duvalle neighborhood. Mini-pitches are customized, hard-court surfaces suited for soccer programs and pick-up games, and they can serve as community hubs, encourage physical activity and provide more opportunities for play.

Louisville Parks and Recreation will host the mini-pitch opening ceremony at 11 a.m. Sunday, with an opportunity for youth to play on the surface.

“First, I want to show my appreciation to the Kentucky Association of Health Plans for their generous donation to support this opportunity,” said George Davis, the interim executive director of the LouCity & Racing Foundation. “We have witnessed firsthand the growth of soccer in this community and look forward to building on that interest. Our goals are to provide access to the sport and everything that comes with it. The programs and soccer clubs will benefit greatly, but I am most excited to see how the youth in this area create their own experiences and maximize this space.”

“Louisville Parks and Recreation is always looking to cater to the current recreational interests of our community,” said Michelle King, the executive director of Louisville Parks and Recreation. “This brand new mini-pitch brings an exciting opportunity for people who enjoy playing soccer to have easy and safe space to play pick-up games while being introduced to new programming. We are so grateful for our partnerships with the LouCity & Racing Foundation and U.S. Soccer Foundation to be able to install this new amenity in Russell Lee Park right next door to Southwick Community Center.”

In continuing its mission to bring more soccer opportunities to Louisville, the LouCity & Racing Foundation found the perfect partner in the U.S. Soccer Foundation through its Safe Places to Play program. With more than 700 mini-pitches open for play across the country, the U.S. Soccer Foundation is on track to hit its goal of creating 1,000 new mini-pitches across the country by 2026.

According to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, children who live in underserved areas are four times more likely to lack access to recreational facilities. The Musco Mini-Pitch System provides a solution by creating safer places to play right in their neighborhoods where children live and go to school, and they are an ideal solution for communities looking to rejuvenate underused spaces.

The LouCity & Racing Foundation works to use soccer to provide youth with a safe place and the opportunity to dream, thrive and succeed, and the project in Park Duvalle is part of larger efforts between the Foundation and Louisville Parks and Recreation to grow the game in the Derby City.

The Foundation engages with thousands of kids across the Kentuckiana region, performing clinics and programs for nonprofit partners and youth organizations, providing scholarships for camps and our youth academy, distributing equipment, allotting professional game tickets and finding other ways to support all soccer in the community.