Jubilee Park unveiled a major-league makeover Thursday.
Close to 100 children in red jerseys rushed at the chance to play on their new South Dallas soccer field, a gift from the FC Dallas Foundation and Embassy of the United Arab Emirates.
“This beautiful field is going to allow us to address childhood obesity; it’s going to allow us to address juvenile diabetes,” Jubilee Park CEO Ben Leal said. “It’s also going to work with our kids to teach them responsibility, respect and teamwork. And let’s face it, they are all going to have a really good time out there as well.”
Officials broke ground on the field at Jubilee Park and Community Center just north of Fair Park in August, and it was completed last week, Leal said.
Jubilee Park is the first site that FC Dallas and the UAE Embassy have built together. The embassy has donated six soccer fields across the country, including in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
“This soccer field is just another milestone in the growing partnership between the UAE Embassy and FC Dallas,” said Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the U.S. “Hopefully, this park and this field will keep the community developing in the right direction.”
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, City Council member Adam Medrano and FC Dallas CEO Clark Hunt celebrated the park at Thursday’s dedication.
“To have a gift of this soccer field, to have a gift of coaches and programs from FC Dallas, from the Hunt family, it’s remarkable,” Rawlings said.
The mayor said he was “blown away” by Al Otaiba’s generosity and hoped the 274 children enrolled in Jubilee’s athletic program would get the most that they can out of the park.
“Your job is to keep this building clean and safe and treat each other with the dignity that these gifts were meant to be given to you,” Rawlings told the youths.
The children got to break in the field during a soccer skills clinic with FC Dallas players and staff. Moises Hernandez, an FC Dallas defender who grew up in nearby Pleasant Grove, said the park held special meaning for him.
“It’s a blessing for the kids,” he said. “Seeing their faces, they are so happy. I’m just so excited for the kids, because this is something I always wanted as a child.”
FC Dallas will offer free clinics and coaching support through the park’s soccer program.
