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Seattle Sounders FC

RAVE Foundation, Premera Blue Cross and Renton Community Celebrate Grand Opening of Mini Pitch at Highlands Park Tomorrow

July 6, 2021 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


SEATTLE, WASH. - This Wednesday, July 7, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. PT - ahead of Sounders FC's evening match at Lumen Field against Houston Dynamo FC - the club's charitable arm, RAVE Foundation, and partner Premera Blue Cross are hosting an official grand opening event for a new mini pitch at Highlands Park in Renton, Washington.

The opening event is a public unveiling of the new mini pitch, and the local community is invited to attend. Former Sounder and current team Brand Ambassador Brad Evans will serve as emcee, with short addresses from various community officials, culminating with a local youth providing the ceremonial first kick on goal to mark the official opening of the pitch. Once the pitch has been opened, free ice cream will be available for those in attendance, while Cultures United FC is set to be on hand with soccer skills stations for community youth and Evans will host a free RAVE soccer ball giveaway.

Along with support from key community partners the City of Renton, King County Parks and Renton Public Schools, Sounders FC and Premera have built the new mini pitch to provide a critical resource for the Renton community. The mini pitch is located in Highlands Park and bordered by Highlands Elementary. RAVE Foundation is bringing its Science of Soccer program - as well as its physical education curriculum - to Highlands Elementary beginning this fall, and the new mini pitch will serve as a location for those lessons throughout the school year.

Last winter, Evans and RAVE Foundation, in partnership with Premera, held an all-school virtual assembly for Highlands Elementary students, during which the forthcoming mini pitch was first announced. In preparation for every student at Highlands to have their own ball to play with on the new pitch in their community, RAVE Foundation also hosted a drive-thru all-school ball giveaway the same day.

RAVE Foundation has invested in programs, including free soccer camps and programs that use soccer as a vehicle to inspire learning, in the Renton community at large for the past two years, and will continue to do so for the long-term.

The Highlands Park mini pitch marks the eighth mini pitch driven by RAVE Foundation and Sounders FC's commitment to Defend the Right to Play, focusing efforts on youth in communities of color and in historically marginalized communities in the Puget Sound region - one of the core tenets of Sounders FC's Social Justice Framework. RAVE Foundation mini pitches are unrentable, meaning they remain open and available at all times to the communities they were built to serve, preserving play opportunities for all children.

With Washington State fully reopened, this event is scheduled to be open to the local community.

WHAT: Highlands Park Mini Pitch Opening Event

WHO: Brad Evans, Former Sounder and Current Club Brand Ambassador

Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, Sounders FC Senior Vice President of Legal and External Affairs

Alfred Deblasio, Highlands Elementary Principal

Regan Dunn, King County Councilmember

Armondo Pavone, Mayor, City of Renton

Eric Trott, Premera Director of Marketing

WHEN: Wednesday, July 7 - 1:00-2:00 p.m. PT

WHERE: Highlands Park (800 Edmonds Ave. NE, Renton, WA 98056)

HEALTH & SAFETY: With Washington State fully reopened, this event is scheduled to be open to the local community. Sounders FC and RAVE Foundation will adhere to the most current public health guidelines, including mask wearing and distancing when appropriate.

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