2026 World Cup is coming to U.S. Why the Sounders are investing $30K in Pasco

For Tri-Cities soccer fans and players looking for a new spot to play, Pasco is set to have two new outdoor futsal courts opening this summer.

The city has partnered with the RAVE Foundation, the official charitable arm of the Seattle Sounders MLS team to build the courts. The foundation contributed up to $30,000 to the project.

The group has a mission to install 26 new futsal courts in Washington by 2026, the year when the FIFA World Cup is coming to the U.S.

Futsal is a small-sided version of soccer. It’s played indoors or outdoors on a hard, finished surface court that is slightly larger than a basketball court.

The fast-paced game is sometimes played with a smaller, low bounce ball to help players develop ball control skills. Touchlines are used for boundaries.

The freshly painted blue and green courts — at Kurtzman and Highland parks — are expected to open for play by the end of June. They will feature two anchored 10-foot goals and fencing around a 50-foot wide converted basketball court.

The foundation’s other 19 sites already selected include two elementary schools in Yakima. Most of the fields, however, are in and around Seattle and Tacoma.

Pasco’s champion for the project is recreation services manager Brent Kubalek.

He explained that over a year ago, the RAVE Foundation contacted various agencies in Pasco, including the city’s parks and recreation department, the school district and the Port of Pasco, to determine interest in adding futsal courts.

Pasco was selected, in part, because of community interest and demand for soccer in the city’s underserved areas, including east Pasco where Kurtzman and Highland parks are located.

The parks were selected because their close to local elementary schools because two of their existing basketball courts could be converted into futsal courts but still keeping one basketball court at each park.

Soccer is also culturally important to Latinos living in Pasco and the Tri-Cities, with nearly 55% of Franklin County’s population identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

“We have a lot of soccer that’s being played in Pasco between the soccer complex at Gesa Stadium, Tri-Cities Youth Soccer Association, Three Rivers Soccer Club, the Pasco YMCA soccer leagues and school programs, ” Kubalek said. “Futsal creates opportunities for a small group to play.”

Kubalek also noted that Pasco and Chiawana high school boys soccer teams were the only two schools in the district to make it to the 4A state soccer tournament this year. There also are local adult leagues and pick-up soccer games throughout the area.

Before accepting the proposal from the RAVE Foundation, the city received a $100,000 local park maintenance grant from the state of Washington to pay for resurfacing of seven basketball courts, including the four courts at Kurtzman and Highland parks.

The city will pay about $8,000 for the resurfacing, plus the cost of staff time that the grant does not cover. Courts at Richardson Park and Sunny Meadows Park also will be resurfaced.

There are two other futsal courts in Pasco that opened in March 2022 at Sylvester Park. In Kennewick, the Civic Athletic Complex and Southridge Sports and Events Complex have indoor basketball courts than can be used for futsal.

Kubalek said the futsal courts at Sylvester Park have been popular and residents have been asking for more courts around Pasco.

The tennis courts and basketball courts at Sylvester Park are also seeing more use as people come to play on the futsal courts.

The courts are not regulated and don’t need to be rented. They must be free under RAVE Foundation’s requirements.

The RAVE Foundation and the city plan a celebration in August, including giving away 400 soccer balls at the event.

For more information, visit the City of Pasco Recreation Services website.