If you wander into the cavernous lobby at 28 Liberty St, and take a couple of staircases down into the building’s subterranean levels, you’ll come across something unexpected: four soccer pitches. Three are roughly a quarter the size of a full standard pitch, making them perfect for five-a-side games, while the fourth is large enough to accommodate seven-a-side affairs.
The astroturf fields belong to Socceroof, which debuted in the neighborhood in September. The venue combines a place to kick about with friends with a full bar, lounge, and event-hosting capabilities. Though as the name suggests, Socceroof didn’t originate in a basement: “Our first location was actually on a roof in Sunset Park,” manager Eric Herrera told the Downtown Alliance. From there, it’s grown to encompass venues in Crown Heights and Long Island City, as well as another in Westchester and two in Montréal. Since the Lower Manhattan location is relatively new, Herrera hopes that the World Cup will provide a perfect springboard for increasing the venue’s visibility — and for getting downtowners into soccer.
:“It’s been great to get to bring soccer to a new community, because while there are other options elsewhere in the city, I don’t think there’s ever been something like this [in the neighborhood], unless you were going to an outdoor park.” he said.
Socceroof will be showing each and every World Cup match — “I mean, we wouldn’t be able to call ourselves a soccer venue otherwise!” Herrera said — and the venue is inviting soccer-curious folks to stop by and try out their facilities ahead of and during the games. If you’re interested in booking an entire pitch, you can do so via the venue’s website; the smaller fields start from $150 per hour, while the larger one begins at $275 per hour, with prices increasing during times of peak demand. If you’re just looking for a few people to join for a game, you can also register via the site for pick-up games.
Herrera says that there has already been a strong demand from local offices for World Cup-focused events that can combine watching matches with the chance for a friendly kick-around with colleagues. (Again, anyone interested in booking such an event should do so via the venue website.) Will Herrera be watching too? “Oh, absolutely,” he said. “My roots are in Mexico, so I’ll be rooting for Mexico. We’re one of the hosts, so I have high hopes!” If the players need even more motivation, this is their chance to impress incoming manager Rafa Marquez. The former Barcelona defender is currently an assistant coach, but will be taking the top job after the World Cup is done.
“It’ll be interesting to see how that goes,” Herrera says. “[Announcing] a change of managers a month before the World Cup…”
It’s certainly a bold decision. “It’s something, I’ll say that much!” he laughed. He added that he’s looking forward to experiencing the World Cup in North America.
“Hopefully it’ll be a good one, because the whole world is watching,” he said.
Tom Hawking is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor and football fanatic. Find him at his website.
