Courtesy: The Grand Island Independent



Grand Island gets its first futsal court

Thursday, August 18, 2016

by Tracy Overstreet

Futsal anyone?

Construction officially started last week on Grand Island’s first-ever futsal court. It’s a soccer field on concrete.

“It has an enclosed fence around it and it’s really maintenance friendly,” said Parks and Recreation Director Todd McCoy. “Futsal is on a hard surface and is on a smaller area ... it’s good for passing and learning some of the fine skills of soccer.”

The court is being built in Lions Club Park at Sixth and Sycamore, along with a new basketball court to replace the old cracked court that has been there for decades.
The city obtained a $650,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to use toward the $750,000 park upgrade, which also includes new sidewalks.

“I think this project is a great demonstration of the benefit of CDBG programs and a testament of the city’s dedication to providing quality public facilities in low-moderate income neighborhoods,” McCoy said.

The existing playground equipment at Lions Club Park will remain, but is planned to be updated in the future, he said.
The one-block-long park will lose some of its greenspace as the new futsal court takes up slightly more space than the basketball court.

Futsal is a modified soccer game that takes fewer players — just five to a side. The name comes from Spanish and means “room football,” according to Wikipedia. It is a popular Latin American sport and is recognized internationally.

Each end of the field has a goal, just like regular soccer. One of the five players serves as goalkeeper.

A game of futsal is played in two 20-minute halves, with an intermission that can last up to 15 minutes.

Grand Island currently has 30 acres of soccer fields. Those fields are well utilized and can require significant maintenance during the playing season, so the addition of a low-maintenance futsal field is a plus for the Parks Department, McCoy said.

The concrete field will be easy to care for, he said.
The entire park upgrade is to be complete by spring 2017, but the futsal court may be ready to use yet this year.
“It offers another soccer opportunity,” McCoy said.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com