OPI BUILDS FOUR NEW FUTSAL COURTS IN SCHOOLYARDS IN PORTLAND AND BEAVERTON

Operation Pitch Invasion is pleased to announce that its Project Blacktop initiative has resulted in four new futsal (schoolyard soccer) courts in Portland-area schools.

The new courts are at Kelly School in SE Portland, Robert Gray School in SW Portland, Woodlawn School in NE Portland, and Beaver Acres School in Beaverton. In each, an existing area of blacktop was refreshed, lined for soccer, and supplied with goal frames, putting soccer on a par with basketball, kickball, and foursquare as an outlet for recess and after-school play.

“We believe that futsal is the future of American soccer,” says OPI board member Shawn Levy, “and we're proud to provide courts where kids can learn and play the game. We were founded by Portland soccer fans to build, restore, and maintain soccer surfaces in parks and schoolyards, and we plan to keep Project Blacktop going every year for the foreseeable future.”

Project Blacktop is undertaken with the cooperation of Portland Public Schools and the Beaverton School District. Financial support is provided by the 107 Independent Supporters Trust and the Portland Youth Soccer Association.

The four new courts join five Project Blacktop surfaces built previously by OPI at Arleta, Astor, and Lent schools in Portland, Barnes school in Beaverton, and Col. Summers Park in Portland.

OPI AND PORTLAND TIMBERS & THORNS BUILD NEW FUTSAL COURT IN FOREST GROVE, OR

Operation Pitch Invasion is pleased to announce that its Fields For All initiative, undertaken in partnership with the Stand Together program of the Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns, has resulted in a new futsal complex at Tom McCall Upper Elementary School in Forest Grove, Oregon.

The new complex, consisting of two new futsal courts inside a fenced location on school grounds, was created by grinding up and remaking a pre-existing blacktop.

“We believe that futsal is the future of American soccer,” says OPI board member Shawn Levy, “and we're proud to provide courts where kids can learn and play the game. We were founded by Portland soccer fans to build, restore, and maintain soccer surfaces in parks and schoolyards, and along with the Timbers and Thorns we plan to keep Fields For All going for the foreseeable future.”

Fields for All is the result of an ongoing annual partnership between OPI and the Timbers and Thorns. Financial support is provided by adidas, KeyBank, and Providence Health & Services. The cooperation of the Forest Grove School District was essential to this year's project.

King's Court unveiled

On August 17, King's Court was officially opened to the public. The pair of new futsal courts at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School is the second project of Fields For All, a collaboration between Operation Pitch Invasion and Stand Together, the community outreach program of the Portland Timbers.

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales joined Timbers players Fanendo Adi, Taylor Peay, and Gbenga Arokoyo, club president of business Mike Golub, and city officials and sponsors for a special dedication ceremony.