Recreational opportunities are expanding in West Valley City.

The Parks and Recreation Department opened futsal courts at Centennial Park in 

November and a new park in the city’s far southwestern corner in December. 

Futsal is a smaller version of soccer played by up to five players on each team generally on a smaller indoor hard-surface court instead of an outdoor field, except the new courts take the place of two outdoor basketball courts on the west side of Centennial Park. Futsal is also played with a smaller, harder soccer ball that has less bounce and stays closer to the surface. 

West Valley City Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Young said the courts were made possible by Rise Athletics Foundation, a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote soccer and to give young people the chance to play the sport. It was founded by retired Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando and one of its board members is former RSL player Taylor Peay. 

“We worked with them and there was no cost” to install the courts, Young said.

“We had requests for futsal courts for quite a while. It was interesting timing how they reached out to us and we said ‘yeah, let’s do it’ and we made it happen pretty quickly,” Young said.  “We’re really excited to have those courts as part of our sports facility inventory at Centennial Park.” 

Sunset Hollow Park is the latest addition to West Valley City’s roster of 36 parks. Located at 6378 S. Oquirrh Mesa Drive just west of State Route 111 it is on land provided by the builders of the Sunset Hills and Wood Hollow housing developments. The 3-acre park has two playgrounds, a basketball court, pavilion and walking trail that connects to other trails in the neighborhood. 

“It’s got some really great amenities,” Young said. “We got it done a little bit later than we wanted, but it’s ready and the community’s been using it.”

Located at the foot of the Oquirrh Mountains, the park offers a sweeping view of the Salt Lake Valley. λ