A community boost ahead of the World Cup
Pittsfield officials are moving forward with a plan to convert the worn‑out inline street hockey rink at Crane Park into a compact soccer venue, a move timed to coincide with the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The proposal, championed by the Parks Commission, would replace the 30‑year‑old asphalt surface and rotting boards with a hard‑court or synthetic‑turf mini‑pitch measuring roughly 60 by 120 feet, complete with built‑in goals and a galvanized steel border.
Funding and design details
A grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation would cover more than $100,000 in materials and labor, while the city would shoulder about $10,000 for site preparation; the foundation would supply the system and handle installation over three to four days.
Jim McGrath, the city's park, open space and natural resource program manager, says the new facility will meet rising demand for safe, accessible recreation and help rejuvenate an underused urban space, joining the more than 900 mini‑pitches already scattered across the nation, 70 percent of which sit in dense, low‑resource neighborhoods.
If approved, the installation would preserve the existing inline skating area, ensuring that current users are not displaced while the new soccer space adds another layer of activity to the park.