Working the Fields

The fields in Portland's park system get a tremendous amount of use. With nearly year round play from youth leagues, classic soccer, and community pick-up play, its no wonder our City's fields are in need of repair. And quite simply, the Parks department doesn't have the budget to keep up.

That's where OPI comes in.

OPI's park improvement projects leverage the strength, sweat, and good cheer of our volunteers to improve our City's pitches. Three or four times each summer, members of the public and devoted Timbers Army join us to paint goal posts, chalk lines, repair irrigation systems, rake plugs, fill holes, restore goal mouths, and generally leave the place better than we found it. 

These improvements make our parks safer and more enjoyable places to play. Better parks bring people together to make communities. Even a fresh coat of paint on goal equipment can make all the difference in kids eyes, instilling "pride of place" and personal pride in themselves, their team and their community.

For an idea of our bigger projects, take a look at our capital works portfolio.

Fernhill Park (2014)

Goal Painting (2014)

Rigler School (2014)

Overlook Park (2013)

Marshall + Franklin High (2013)

Willamette Park (2013)

Lents Park (2013)

Knott Park (2012)

Clinton Park (2012)

Bloomington Park (2012)

Goal Painting (2012)

James John Elementary (2011)

Ed Benedict Park (2011)

Fernhill Park

northeast Portland - October 11, 2014

In October 2014, 25 OPI volunteers gathered at Northeast Portland's Fernhill Park to join in  Portland Parks Foundation annual Parke Diem event to repair irrigation equipment, level uneven pitches and repair goal mouths. As one of 70 other park improvement events comprising Parke Diem, OPI's work restored the park's irrigation system and made a bumpy pitch safer.

Portland Parks Foundation treated volunteers with coffee, snacks, t-shirts and an amazing event improving our City's Parks. OPI looks forward to being a part of Parke Diem in the future. 

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Goal Painting (2014)

throughout Portland - July 26, 2014

In the summer of 2014, a group of volunteers gathered at Delta Park in North Portland before "invading" pitches throughout the City. Armed with scrapers, brushes and paint, small teams visited parks throughout the City to clean and repaint goal equipment before returning to Delta Park for a BBQ with our friends from Portland Parks and Recreation.

This was OPIs second painting event and has become popular with our volunteers.

Rigler School

northeast Portland - August 23, 2014

OPI restored goal mouths and painted goals at this Northeast school.

Overlook Park

Southwest Portland - summer 2013

OPI worked with employees of Tripwire to level the pitches and weeded the baseball fields at this Southwest park. Thanks to Tripwire for helping out!

Franklin + Marshall High

Southeast Portland - June 2013

Volunteers from the Timbers Army Football Club restored pitches and cleaned the grounds at these two high school fields.

Willamette Park

Southwest Portland - May 2013

Around 40 OPI Volunteers raked field plugs and leveled the pitch at this Southwest Park in just a few hours work.

Knott Park

Southeast Portland - September 2012

OPI volunteers restored this Southeast Portland park in 2012.

Lents Park

Southeast Portland - Spring 2013

This project brought together around 35 volunteers into Portland's Lents Park for 3+ hours of work on a grey Saturday morning. Over 100 volunteer hours combined to level ruts and repair irrigation on two heavily used pitches.

Thanks to our friends at Portland Parks and Recreation for coffee and work supervision!

Clinton Park

Southeast Portland - August 2012

OPI volunteers restored Clinton Park in 2012. 

Bloomington Park

Southeast Portland - June 2012

Bloomington Park was restored in June 2012.

Goal Painting (2012)

Southeast Portland - August 2012

On August 5, a blistering Sunday morning, some four dozen Operation Pitch Invasion volunteers descended on a Portland Parks and Recreation storage facility in SE Portland to restore several score soccer goals to shiny, playable condition.

In the course of about 4 hours, the OPI crew sorted, scraped, repainted and stored away approximately 75 goals (1 crossbar and 2 stanchions each), creating glistening white equipment where there was once a pile of rusted, dingy metal. The goals will now be used throughout the PPR soccer field inventory for the upcoming soccer season.

James John Elementary

Southeast Portland - JUly 2011

In cooperation with AC Portland and Depave, OPI gathered up the Timbers Army and members of the community to help with this depaving and field installation project in St. Johns. OPI helped with asphalt removal and landscaping in anticipation of the installation of an artificial turf field at James John Elementary School.

Ed Benedict Park

Southeast Portland - JUly 2011

OPI's inaugural event brought together nearly 50 volunteers on a Saturday morning in 2011 to repair irrigation systems and repair goal mouths on two pitches in this Southeast Portland neighborhood. OPI volunteers quickly earned the appreciation of Portland Parks and Recreation staff for fast, quality work.

Volunteers earned OPI t-shirts for their work that day kicking off what would become a regular series of volunteer driven events for OPI.