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By Kendra Ablaza, Staff Writer

February 6, 2013 - The United States Soccer Foundation awarded the Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine with a $61,500 grant to convert two tennis courts at DeForest Park in North Long Beach into two futsal courts. The city council must approve the grant before a request for proposal is issued.

Parks, recreation and marine representative Jane Grobaty said the tennis courts at DeForest were underused and creating courts for futsal, a derivative of soccer, would be a better way to maximize the space. She said city council must approve the grant, then have site specifications examined before a request for proposal – outlining a proposed timeline and cost for the project – is made.

“The new futsal courts will be a nice complement to other upgrades at DeForest Park, such as the Wetlands Restoration Project this summer, among many other park and open space enhancements in the 9th District,” Steven Neal, 9th District councilmember, said.

Deriving from Portugal, Futsal loosely translates as “indoor football” and can be played on both indoor and outdoor courts on a hard surface.