PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia is getting 17 new soccer pitches, and city officials say the $3.5 million project will bring local facilities in line with local enthusiasm for the sport.
12-year-old Izel Perez plays for Palumbo Soccer Club in South Philadelphia, but he can't play at Palumbo.
"My field, it broke down and it was a lot of dirt and mud. It wasn't really fit to play and they told us we had to move somewhere else, so we had to play in New Jersey in a place called the Kroc Center," Perez said.
He was on hand for the announcement that the city was building 15 mini pitches for youth soccer and two new regulation fields.
"It was really fun playing in Philadelphia and it's nice to have new fields that we'll be able to play in, in the future," Perez said.
Soccer has a long history in Philadelphia, according to Chris Branscome of Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer, and he says it's more popular than ever.
"There's never been a greater time to be a soccer fan or soccer player in this city than right now," Branscome said.
The league, along with the Philadelphia Union, is providing a chunk of the money.
The rest is coming from bonds issued by the city's Rebuild program. The effort is expected to take five years to complete.
