You don't need to look any farther than the packed grandstands at Sporting Park or the thousands of kids on recreational fields every night and every weekend to know that this is true.
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| Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas (Image courtesy of Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporting_Kansas_City) |
Several years ago, when Sporting KC were still the Wizards, they entered into a development agreement with the Unified Government to build Sporting Park at Village West.
Part of that agreement called for Sporting KC to build three full-size grass or turf soccer fields for recreational use in the eastern part of Wyandotte County.
Over the years, Sporting and the UG encountered several challenges in finding good locations for the full-size recreational fields, so Sporting KC recently presented an alternative proposal to convert unused tennis courts throughout the city into futsal courts.
For those unfamiliar with futsal, it's a fast-paced soccer game that is played by 5-person teams (4 field players and a goalkeeper) on a court that is much smaller than a regulation soccer field (small futsal courts are just about exactly the size of tennis courts). The courts can be located indoors or outdoors and they typically have a hard surface rather than grass or field turf.
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| This rooftop futsal court in Tokyo shows that the smaller sized playing surfaces can be fit into lots of spaces where a traditional field simply wouldn't work. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsal) |
The challenges that the UG and Sporting KC encountered in locating sites for full-size fields are the same challenges facing communities all over the country as the popularity of soccer grows. A recent article in the L.A. Times reported that, "the emphasis on futsal is expected to triple the number of places to play in the Los Angeles region, from about 15 to 45 during the next two years."
The article noted that most of those new courts will be constructed on surfaces that used to house tennis or volleyball courts.
As part of the MLS All-Star game activities in July 2013, Sporting Kansas City and MLS Works joined together to turn two abandoned tennis courts at Wyandotte High School into two brand new futsal courts.
These courts could serve as the prototype for the new courts that Sporting KC is proposing.
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| A soccer ball monument marks the courts at Wyandotte High School. |
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| Ready for play. |
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| I learned to play tennis right here on this surface, but that was (many... many) years ago and there wasn't much tennis played here in recent years. However, the new futsal courts are busy every day! |
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| Chain link "nets" stand up to the abuse of hundreds of hard shots. |
SportingKC's recent proposal calls for building eight futsal court complexes (one in each UG Commission District). Each court complex could have one or two courts (depending on how many tennis courts already exist for conversion).
After considering several possible sites in District 2, Sporting KC and the UG Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments decided that the tennis courts at Bethany Park (11th and Central) would be the best choices for conversion to futsal.
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| The Bethany Park tennis courts (yellow box) are located at about 11th Street and Central Avenue. |
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| Here's a photo of the tennis courts at Bethany Park as they look today. There is not currently a net on either court, so not much tennis is getting played. |
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| Whether it's futsal or tennis, these courts needs some work... |
Besides constructing the futsal courts, Sporting KC has also committed to programming that will include both instructional sessions and some league or tournament play.
Several people have told me they are disappointed that Sporting KC won't be constructing the full-sized regulation fields. However, given the reduced maintenance of futsal courts compared to grass or turf, and the fact that there will potentially be 16 individual courts at the eight sites across Wyandotte County, I think Sporting's new proposal is a winner when it comes to getting large numbers of our youth engaged in this exciting and fast-paced game.
The final details of the Sporting KC proposal (including confirmed sites for some of the courts) are still being ironed out. I'll post an update as soon as we get news.
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| Although this court is indoors, it gives you a perspective of the close spacing of players on a futsal court. |
Have a great week!
