College Park to celebrate opening of new mini-pitch soccer field Saturday

College Park to celebrate opening of new mini-pitch soccer field on Saturday.

Credit: AJC file

Credit: AJC file

College Park to celebrate opening of new mini-pitch soccer field on Saturday.

College Park will celebrate the opening of a new mini-pitch soccer field from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at Richard D. Zupp Park.

The field, the second mini-pitch for College Park, is part of the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Safe Places to Play program, which aims to transform a community’s underutilized areas into state-of-the-art soccer fields, the city said in a news release.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation and the U.S. Soccer Foundation are supplying some of the funds for the park through grants given to the city. The College Park field is one of 15 mini-pitches DICK’S and U.S. Soccer have installed across the country as part of the United for Girls initiative, the city said.

To date, the U.S. Soccer Foundation has installed more than 500 mini-pitches nationwide, the organization said. It hopes to install 1,000 by 2026.

After the opening celebration, Soccer in the Streets will host scrimmages on the pitch with youth and coaches. A festival featuring other soccer activities, food and music is also planned.

Richard D. Zupp Park is located at 1622 Hawthorne Avenue in College Park.