PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Football or soccer — regardless of what you call it, it's the world's game. Now, a special renovation at Capitolo Playground in South Philadelphia will help bring the game to a culturally diverse community.
Kira Strong, with the city's Rebuild Initiative, spoke to KYW Newsradio about the initiative's plan to regrade and redo the Capitolo athletic field.
"We're planting trees, we're placing picnic table seating along Passyunk Avenue. We're improving fencing. We're creating an ADA accessible entrance at 10th and Wharton streets as well as new bleachers and teams benches for spectators and players," she said.
Strong said the decision for the upgrades was inspired by the community's excitement, and fueled by soccer's growing popularity in the region, evidenced by the Unity Cup and the push for a World Cup.
"The enthusiasm we saw from the soccer teams, the leagues, the players and other families in the community engagement that we did during 2020 was really evident in the number of people that we saw come to our public meetings," she said.
"The need to add additional play space or to add improved play space for the soccer leagues and teams was absolutely evident."
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The price tag for the new pitch at Capitolo, according to Strong, is about $1 million.
"It's actually phase two for Rebuild," she said. "Phase one, we redid the basketball courts and the spray ground, and added some lighting, so we’re really excited to be back at the site."
Officials expect the renovations to be completed by spring of 2022.