Nike Replaced the Pitch at the Stanton Street Soccer Field; Steve Nash’s ‘Showdown’ is Happening

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After nine years of constant use and abuse, the shredded Nike soccer field on Stanton Street is finally on the road to rehabilitation. The sports brand is currently replacing the field and should wrap by mid-month. New turf carpeting is already in place while other materials lie in wait on the adjacent basketball courts.

Honestly, it’s about time. The gifted public amenity had been a joint initiative between the athletic company and FieldTurf USA Inc. in 2006, but began to seriously deteriorate shortly after its installation. The turf was extremely dangerous, having exposing soccer players to divots, the underlying metal base, and patchwork bandaging.

The old soccer field was technically under warranty but the manufacturer would not honor it due to the lack of maintenance. Parks Department admitted as much to Community Board 3 in January, and noted that the city doesn’t have a staff trained to maintain a field of that nature (they only address basic needs). Nevertheless, the city agency prioritized the pitch, and engaged two unnamed donors to replace the arguably defective field turf. Unconfirmed rumors alleged that one of said angel investors was none other than pro-athlete Steve Nash himself, who purportedly backed out last month.

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Parks Chief of Staff Steve Simon, however, further confirmed to us last week that Nike swooped in as sole savior. Replacement is underway (though, not visibly) and should be completed by “mid-June.”

“The work is being paid for by Nike as a donation to NYC Parks, but the field is not being named for Nike,” Simon noted.

The new field arrives just in time for the Showdown in Chinatown, recently scheduled for June 24. Until now, the annual charity event had been in limbo.

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