The mini soccer pitch at Capitolo Playground has been transformative. Now it is Gifford Playground’s turn.

When the children of Club Deportivo Los Lobos, or the Wolves Sporting Club, found out a new soccer mini pitch would be built at their South Philly playground, they were elated.

“We played for many years in the dirt, without grass,” said Luis Uribe, organizer of the soccer club that serves about 180 kids. “When we found out Rebuild was going to build a new pitch, we got so excited. [The kids] saw people are really looking out for them.”

The soccer mini pitch built at Capitolo Playground, which had its ribbon-cutting in July 2022, is one of 15 pitches being constructed across Philadelphia under the Rebuild initiative.

The Philadelphia Union Foundation and Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association each committed $500,000 for the construction of the pitches at Rebuild sites in the city, including the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center and Gifford Playground.

“It’s really representative of a groundswell of momentum that the city of Philadelphia has around soccer,” said Ray Smeriglio, first deputy and chief of staff of the Rebuild initiative, citing the Union’s exciting season last year and Philadelphia’s hosting of the World Cup in 2026.

The Rebuild initiative — which is a $500 million investment in city parks, recreation centers, and libraries funded by the city’s beverage tax — has been focusing on neighborhoods with limited access to resources, particularly in determining where to build the soccer pitches. Then, Rebuild engages in a community engagement process that lasts for six months to a year to determine how to best serve needs in the area.

“It’s really representative of a groundswell of momentum that the city of Philadelphia has around soccer.”

“Any site Rebuild works on is a very individualistic, specific approach to that community — it bubbles up pretty organically from the needs expressed by youth or community members using a site,” said Kira Strong, executive director of Rebuild.

For example, the Myers site comes with outdoor storage, built-in benches and cupholders for people. Capitolo’s pitches are grass, but the walls around the pitches are made of turf in order to muffle the noise of balls hitting the walls all day so as not to disturb the neighbors.

For many sites, including Capitolo, the cost of building a new pitch has prevented them from doing so before Rebuild’s involvement. Next on Rebuild’s list is the Murphy Recreation Center, which has already started construction, and Lawncrest Recreation Center, which is set to start construction next year.

Strong said she loves to visit Capitolo on the weekends and see the tops of the kids’ heads behind the pitch walls as they run back and forth during their games.

For Strong, one of her favorite things about the mini pitch program is its “creative space reactivation,” she said. The team often identifies an underutilized space, usually hardtop, and aims to repurpose it to better serve the kids.

“Maximizing the number of activities at any site is huge — how do we draw more youth in so that these sites are really well used and well loved, and maximize those opportunities for kids,” Strong said.

While 15 sites have been identified for mini pitches, Strong said that community members can reach out to Rebuild if they want their neighborhoods to be considered for a pitch.

“The more the merrier,” she said.