Courtesy: Daily Progress


Construction begins on futsal court in Grand Island park

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Construction has begun on Grand Island's first futsal court.

Parks and Recreation Director Todd McCoy told The Grand Island Independent (http://bit.ly/2blU2Gh ) that the concrete soccer field has a fence around it and is easy to maintain.

The court is being built at Lions Club Park along with a replacement basketball court and new sidewalks. McCoy said the existing playground equipment will stay at the park, but is planned for a future update.

The city obtained a $650,000 Community Development Block Grant to use for the $750,000 park upgrade.

"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 one-block-long park will lose some greenspace as the new futsal court takes up slightly more area than the basketball court.

Futsal is a modified soccer game that only uses five players per team. The game is played in two 20-minute halves. The sport is recognized internationally, but is particularly popular in Latin America.

Just like soccer, one of the five players on each team acts as a goalkeeper at the ends of the field.

"Futsal is on a hard surface and is on a smaller area," McCoy said. "It's good for passing and learning some of the fine skills of soccer."

The upgrade to the park is expected to be complete by spring 2017, but the futsal court may be ready to use this year.


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