We were all pretty bummed to find out a while back that Valencia Playground and Pool was closing for renovation that would take over a year. While we welcomed the idea of modern improvements like a new turf soccer field and futuristic playground equipment, there were also a number of concerns voiced by the community regarding access to these improvements, since the other recently created soccer fields in the Mission (Garfield and Franklin) have replaced the free-form pickup nature of the sport with rigid scheduled blocks restricting use that are a massive pain in the ass to reserve.
While efforts were made to reach out to the primarily-Latino footballers who played in this park and agree to a compromise on when the area would be available for free use, there was some skepticism as to whether the new allotments and enforcement would be fair. Well, starting next week we finally get a chance to see how it will all work out, according to Patrick Hannan from the City Fields Foundation:
The full park will open later this summer but the new soccer field will “officially” re-open with a small ribbon-cutting ceremony at 930am on Tuesday, May 22 followed by some soccer play with the students from Everett Middle School. The soccer field and Valencia Street play area will remain open through the rest of construction.
Please join us! Should be a nice event and you can be among the first to try out the new soccer field.
Of course, not everyone seems happy about the news:
What’s the deal with every new playground not having shade? I can’t wait for this place to open, but it will probably take 5 years for whatever stupid little tree they put in to grow enough to provide shade. I’ll just have to take an umbrella.
I guess Im the complainer here. I hate this park. First they “accidentally had to cut down all of the beautiful huge mature trees. Then they removed all grass with cement (I mean side to side, front to back). Then they put in a bunch of kids shit even though there is a full great kids area just a few feet away. I hate it.
And those both seem to be reasonable points. What’s your take on the situation?
Previously:
