Why Charlestown Deserves a Field House
To the Editor,
This time last year, I attended the Boston Youth Soccer Summit hosted by Soccer Unity Project. The theme was Building Toward 2026 and Beyond: How to Elevate Play and Access for Youth Soccer in Boston. On a panel with Jennifer Epstein, Managing Partner of BOS Nation FC, and Brian Bilello, President of the New England Revolution, the question was posed: What does success look like after the 2026 World Cup?
Mr. Bilello’s answer was simple: We’ll know we’ve succeeded when a kid from Boston makes a national team.
Don’t be surprised if that kid comes from Charlestown.
Charlestown is known as a hockey town, with a legacy of producing top-tier players. You could argue we’re a basketball town too, with Charlestown High School thriving and Charlestown Youth Basketball as the fastest-growing program. But really, Charlestown is a sports town. Our fields, courts, and rinks are our “third places”—where we gather, compete, and grow, often rushing from one practice to the next, all within our one square mile.
As negotiations begin between the City and the proponents of the Everett stadium project, it’s worth asking what lasting community benefits we should seek. I won’t pretend to know the best path forward on issues like transportation, noise, or public safety. But I do know this: the only offer on the table for Charlestown so far is a one-time $750,000 contribution to our athletic fields.
That’s not enough. As Councilor Gigi Coletta Zapata has said, Charlestown deserves more. We deserve a Field House.
Here’s why:
Charlestown makes up less than 3% of Boston’s population but accounts for nearly 22% of the city’s Mass Youth Soccer registrations. More than 25% of our school-aged kids play in Charlestown Youth Soccer—double the state average. Last fall, we sent 12 teams to the Mayor’s Cup and won half the competitive divisions. Soccer and basketball are the only sports played by both men and women at Charlestown High School and Bunker Hill Community College. We have two over-40 soccer teams, and two former New England Revolution players call Charlestown home.
That’s nearly 1,000 players and coaches on our fields each week during peak season, made possible by volunteer coaches, a few dedicated athletic directors, and our shared public spaces.
Still, we’re overcrowded. We share fields with other growing programs, and each year we send 30% of our operating budget to Winchester to rent indoor space during the winter. For context, Winchester’s 70,000-square-foot Teamworks facility—built with private funding and grants—hosts youth and adult leagues, events, and practices year-round.
With a field house of our own, Charlestown could offer year-round development, host adult and young adult leagues (20–34-year-olds make up 30% of our population), and provide local preseason training for Charlestown High School and Bunker Hill teams. We could run player evaluations for Boston Public School athletes and Revs Academy prospects, keep our games in town, and relieve pressure on our outdoor fields.
This wouldn’t just benefit soccer. Other town programs could use the space during peak seasons, finally getting the practice time and space they need.
A field house creates opportunities for everyone—and it creates a clear win for both sides of the stadium negotiations. Charlestown Youth Soccer could host the Mayor’s Cup, with finals played in the stadium. We could hold community jamborees with Everett teams. By building a hub for town, club, school, and MLS partnerships, we could attract and retain top coaching talent and grow our sports community.
We don’t need a site picked out today. We simply need our elected officials to know this is what Charlestown wants. One option: allocate stadium mitigation funds to the Charlestown Impact Fund and earmark them for this project. Give the community five years to present a viable plan, or return the monies to the general fund.
For reference, the Impact Fund recently contributed $6 million to cover the Ryan Playground renovation shortfall. With a similar seed amount, we believe we could finance and build this facility without needing more public dollars.
If you agree, join me next Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus. Mayor Wu, Senator Sal DiDomenico, Representative Dan Ryan, and Councilor Coletta Zapata will be there to discuss potential community benefits. Let’s make sure they know Charlestown wants—and deserves—a Field House.
Tim McKenna
VP of Charlestown Youth Soccer Association
and CNC Treasurer.
The views expressed
in the article are his own.