A year ago, at Sacramento’s corner of 18th and L, a once-empty auto shop lot was transformed into a fenced soccer court. Now it’s a place for futsal players to play pickup games and shout as music plays over a speaker.
Games at the Court at 18L don’t resemble traditional soccer; it’s futsal. The space is about the size of a basketball court, with chain-link fencing surrounding the asphalt and small metal goals at either end. There are just five players on each side. No goalies. Bright mural lettering spelling “Street FC” stretches across the brick wall, making it feel more like a streetball cage.
Players don’t have to bring a team. Instead, they sign up through the Street FC app, which lists the weekly schedule. Once a slot is reserved, players arrive, put on a colored bib, and rotate into five-on-five games. Each match lasts about five minutes under a “winner stays on” format, meaning substitutes are cycling in from the sidelines.
The system works because Street FC captains — volunteers like Marcus Salvador and Manuel Ventura — handle the organizing. They unlock the court, check in players using the app, keep games moving, and ensure bibs are washed and ready. The result is a fast-paced night of cage soccer where strangers often meet for the first time and leave as teammates.
“There’s an application that we have. You can download on iPhone or Android. We have all the schedules on there. And you just reserve your spot basically,” said Street FC captain Ventura.
Salvador is also a player; he says the court has given him a place to find a community, reminding him of home.
An overhead view shows players rotating into games at the court, taken from the parking garage above. Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.Tony Rodriguez/CapRadio“I'm from Brazil. If you go to Brazil, you see soccer courts everywhere… [here], you'll see basketball courts everywhere,” Salvador said. “So, it's nice to have our own space. It's my way of getting out of the house, making new friends. It's become a huge part of my week.”
The app also tracks the number of games someone has played and awards milestones as they progress over time. Nadia Kennemore, who began playing here after moving from Oakland to Sacramento in August, said she’s had nothing but positive experiences at the court.
Kennemore was in search of a new place to play pick-up; she played weekly in Oakland and didn’t want to give it up. She hadn’t realized the court was new.
“Everybody seemed so close,” she added. “I thought that it had been here for years, instantly they welcome you in and everybody’s on a name-to-name basis. It’s cool, I like it.”
The Court at 18L opened one year ago through a partnership between a private developer, the city of Sacramento, the Midtown Association, and Street FC.
Emily Baime Michaels, executive director of the Midtown Association, said the project required an unusual permitting workaround because it was formerly an auto shop.
“It became overly complicated from a city permitting standpoint because essentially what you need to do is create a private lot [that] needs to be turned into a public park,” Michaels said.
Michaels said the location in Midtown fits right into the artsy vibe of the area and is something usually only found in larger cities like New York or San Francisco.
“That is such an incredible location because it’s surrounded by wonderful restaurants, surrounded by a ton of folks that live in the area with many apartments and lofts and homes, but there’s not a lot of just open unprogrammed public space outside of the streets and sidewalks,” Michaels explained.
For others, the court’s space offers an opportunity to revisit old hobbies. Pico Torres is in his forties and hadn’t played soccer in years, but was inspired one day to get back into it after walking by the court.
Pico Torres resets a play during a futsal game at the Court at 18L in Midtown Sacramento. Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.Tony Rodriguez/CapRadio“I was going to go get something to eat and I just saw it and I was like, ‘wow, this is beautiful.’ It reminds me of Mexico,” said Torres.
Torres said he found motivation to keep coming back.
“When I first started coming back out here, I was out of shape. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t do nothing. And this motivated me,” he shared. “Everybody here just said keep on going… then suddenly I just started feeling like I was in my teens.”
In its first year, the court has drawn thousands of players, according to Michaels with the Midtown Association.
“The initial numbers for the first year show that there have been at least 3,500 unique individual visits to the court,” Michaels said.
Neighbors who were initially cautious have embraced it.
“We’re hearing just a wonderful response from people who feel like it’s always been in the neighborhood and they hope it stays that way,” she added.
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