Downtown Atlanta’s MARTA soccer turns out to be lively success

February 2,2017

As the protracted process of redeveloping Underground Atlanta blows past another deadline, it can seem like the future of Five Points is in limbo.

But lately there's been a major bright spot in the otherwise perpetually bleak outlook: soccer.

Late last year, a miniature soccer pitch opened on the plaza level of the Five Points MARTA Station, turning an abandoned wasteland into a hub of community activity.

Heralded as the world’s first soccer facility in a transit station, the field was part of a locally grown program called Soccer in the Streets.

Since opening, the pitch has hosted an array of youth and adult soccer programs, enlivening the area, officials say. According to a recent press release, "Station Soccer" has attracted neighborhood kids to come out and play — “a hub for community activity in downtown Atlanta.”

In recognition of the changes the facility has brought to the station, MARTA named the project a “transit win of 2016.”

While details are scarce, it sounds like soccer could be coming to more MARTA stations around the city in the coming year.

Score!