Site of troubled former Eastside middle school revived as soccer park
A new soccer park lives in Eastside Tacoma, thanks to a partnership between the Puyallup Tribe, Tacoma Public Schools, Visa, Street Soccer USA and Bank of America.
Called “Visa Street Soccer Park,” the new park is in the northeast corner of the former Gault Middle School property, according to a release from the Puyallup Tribe.
The former Gault Middle School property, which has been vacant since 2009, for years had been a source of frustration in the neighborhood as residents reported garbage, vandalism and more. A fire broke out in the building in 2022, and it was scheduled to be demolished in February 2024 – until the building was destroyed by arson in January 2024, according to the school district.
School district spokesperson Kathryn McCarthy said the project cost the district $465,000. Street Soccer USA, a nonprofit, will be responsible for maintaining the park, McCarthy told The News Tribune.
The park is home to two fields with “professional-grade turf” and lighting that can be combined into one larger field. The fields also were designed to make space for blind soccer pitch panels, making it accessible to blind athletes and a site for the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes to use as a regional training hub, the release states.
The park is also available to the public as a “multipurpose playfield,” the release states.
“We are excited to bring this awesome opportunity to grow the game of soccer on Tribal land,” the Puyallup Tribal Council said in the release. “It will not only be a benefit to tribal members, but everyone in Tacoma.”
