La Liga Del Barrio served Philly for more than 20 years. Now they’re searching for a gym to call home.

Pat Croce was watching Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican Day Parade in the fall of 1999 when he called City Councilman Angel Ortiz. Croce, then the popular president of the 76ers, did not know until then that the city had such a vibrant Puerto Rican community. He wanted the councilman to tell him how the 76ers could help.

“Angel’s first words out of his mouth were we need to get these kids off the corners. They need a basketball league,” said Raymond Alvarez, who was then working as a legislative aide for Ortiz.

That league — La Liga Del Barrio — is still running more than 20 years later and serves youth across Philadelphia with financial support from the 76ers. They run programs almost year-round and have served roughly 10,000 kids — drawing mostly from the city’s Latino population — in nearly every neighborhood from the Far Northeast to Southwest Philly.

And now they need a gym.

Liga Del Barrio, which is run by Alvarez and other volunteers, operates without their own building as they run their leagues by acquiring gym time at schools or community centers. A gym of their own, Alvarez said, would allow the league to serve even more kids.

“We’ve been growing, steadily growing. The problem is that we run into these obstacles of just basic logistical things to keep a league running smoothly with the facilities that we used,” Alvarez said. “A gym would eliminate the obstacles, the logistical nightmares that cause us to cancel games at the last minute. Plus, we want to expand to be more than just basketball. We want to offer other sports.”

The league is hosting a gala on Friday night at the Felt Factory in Juniata Park to start a capital campaign with the hopes of securing a parcel of land to build a gym. They received one of their first contributions earlier this month when Alvarez and Ortiz visited Croce’s home in Bucks County, hoping to just film a video of Croce to play at the gala. They instead left with $25,000 and a challenge by Croce for others to match his donation.

“He surprised the heck out of us‚” Alvarez said. “The first words out of the councilman’s mouth were ‘You’re going to make me cry.’ My eyes were already watering. I was stunned.”

Liga Del Barrio runs a youth league from December through April, a summer league, a young adult league, and launched a cross-country team during the pandemic. More kids are on a wait list in case a spot opens up. They outfit the children in sharp jerseys, host a trophy celebration at the end of the year, and kick off the season with a draft as kids wear suits and dresses as they walk on stage when their name is called.

“It’s a production,” Alvarez said.

Liga Del Barrio launched the league for young adults — the Alumni League — last year as a response to the city’s rise in gun violence. Alvarez said they had to try something to help steer young adults off the streets. The eight-team league, which included many players who played in the league as kids, was a hit.

But first, they had to find refs.

“They shy away from young adult leagues because they say they cause too many problems, and that’s why they charge exorbitant fees,” Alvarez said. “We sold it to them: ‘Listen, we’ve been doing this for 20 years, and these guys running in the league right now are the same guys who grew up in our league. We can guarantee you that you’ll get the same respect and behavior and representation of our league.’ They were hesitant, but they took the chance and now they’re a part of our in-house referee crew. Those refs will tell you now that they love playing with our guys. They see something different.”

The league’s name translates to “The Neighborhood League” as Ortiz, who served on City Council from 1992 to 2004, wanted the Latino community to feel as if they owned the league. Not having a gym, Alvarez said, provided a silver lining as it forced La Liga Del Barrio to bounce around the city and serve kids from all backgrounds and neighborhoods. After more than 20 years, the neighborhood league is ready to have a home.

“It’s bigger than basketball, and it’s bigger than the game,” said Melinda Caraballo, the league’s marketing director. “It’s the community. And having our own gym would not only just allow the sports to continue, but it would allow that community aspect of, ‘Hey, this is your safe haven. This is where you come to get resources that are needed when they are needed.’ We want to continue to branch out, intertwine educational aspects, and let kids know that there is more than just the sports. There’s a family aspect there, even if they don’t have that at home, they can get that from Liga Del Barrio.”

Alvarez reached Croce earlier this year, calling him in hopes that he could attend their gala. When Croce answered, he told Alvarez that he usually ignores calls from numbers he does not recognize, but he was glad he answered. It had been a while since he heard from La Liga Del Barrio.

Croce couldn’t make the gala as he would be out of town, but he invited Alvarez and Ortiz to his home for lunch. He had a spread of Puerto Rican food waiting for them, and the group reminisced about the league Croce helped launch with a phone call. Alvarez soon found out that his phone call to Croce — more than 22 years after he called Ortiz while watching the parade — would help launch the league’s next stage.

“You talk about full circle,” Alvarez said. “It’s the same way the league started, and now it’s coming back to Pat with a phone call. He said this was pure grace that he picked up that call. It’s amazing.”

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