Real Salt Lake opens new futsal court in Fairpark

The RSL foundation, in conjunction with MSL W.O.R.K.S., opens the “Beckerman Futsal Courts” just west of downtown Salt Lake City

By Lucas Muller@lucaswmuller Jun 29, 2018, 4:00pm MDT

Salt Lake City, Utah (Tuesday 7:30 PM) — Real Salt Lake captain Kyle Beckerman dedicated a pair of futsal courts in the Fairpark, just west of downtown. The courts, named “Beckerman Futsal Court”, are located in Constitution Park, right next to Northwest Recreation Center (1250 Clark Ave). These courts were done in partnership between the RSL Foundation, Salt Lake County, and MLS W.O.R.K.S. This project was overseen by Mary Van Minde, the Director of Community Relations for the RSL Foundation.

The night saw speeches from local businessmen, Mary Van Minde, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, and RSL captain Kyle Beckerman. The official ribbon cutting saw a moment of controlled chaos when about 30 children all took shots as one of the goals with a banner between the sticks.

The hope of these courts is to strengthen community relationships, provide a space for children to play futsal, and advance the game in the US. In a country where it can be difficult to find good playing surfaces for soccer, often fields are in poor condition, courts such as these encourage play from local residents.

I went out to these courts the night before the grand opening to take photographs and a few young guys who lived in the neighborhood asked me if they were allowed to play on it yet. The night of the opening, the kids were only i

nterested in playing a game. If spaces like these exist across the nation, it will help develop soccer in the US. It’s exciting to see RSL help take the lead on advancing the sport we love, in the country we love (to steal a Men in Blazer-ism).