It took years, but this empty Tenderloin lot is finally a soccer field

"Two years ago, Brandon, a fourth grader at Tenderloin Community Elementary, was gazing out the library window at the gray dirt lot behind the school - the ruins of the former McDonalds at 600 Van Ness Ave. It had been demolished to make room for housing that had yet to materialize. Scott Bravmann, a volunteer at the school, asked Brandon what he would like to see there."

"A soccer field, he told Bravmann. He wanted there to be goal posts and a stall to buy snacks and drinks. He wanted to play games and run around the space, then scattered with used needles and scorch marks from small fires. The Tenderloin has the highest density of kids of any San Francisco neighborhood but lacks open spaces for them to play."

"Fourth grade seemed like a great time to practice organizing skills. Bravmann helped Brandon write up a petition to build a soccer field, which Brandon then circulated around the elementary school. In the uneven block letters of elementary schoolers, over 130 of his classmates signed it. On Monday, a pair of soccer pitches will finally open in that lot at Golden Gate and Van Ness avenues, providing a space not only for the school's students but other Tenderloin residents and families to play."

Brandon, a fourth grader at Tenderloin Community Elementary, watched a gray dirt lot that once housed a McDonald's and imagined a soccer field with goal posts and a snack stall. A volunteer, Scott Bravmann, helped him organize a petition that more than 130 classmates signed. Bravmann and neighbors also worked to close Elm Alley to traffic to create play space. The vacant lot had long been scarred by small fires and discarded needles. A pair of soccer pitches will open at Golden Gate and Van Ness, offering play space for students and Tenderloin families as the recreation center remains closed for renovations until summer 2026.

Read at Mission Local