LA, US soccer star Cobi Jones comes to Pasadena to unveil mini-pitch in fire-impacted area

The power of sports converged with a public-private partnership in Pasadena on Friday, April 24, 2026, to unveil a mini-pitch at Octavia E. Butler Magnet Middle School, bringing a friendly new space for youngsters to play soccer in an area impacted by fire last year.

The pitch, developed in partnership with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Pasadena Unified School District, and the city of Pasadena, is part of a growing movement to expand access to the game, but in this moment, it carried a deeper weight.

“If we want the game to grow, we have to invest at the community level,” said LA Galaxy President Tom Braun. “These mini-pitches are about access; giving kids a place to play, to connect, and to see themselves in the game.”

On a field tucked into a neighborhood still finding its footing after the wildfires on the edge of Altadena, soccer star Cobi Jones, a former Galaxy player renowned for his play there and with the U.S. national team, stood at the center of a newly unveiled mini-pitch in his honor. It provides a space built for access, for healing, and for what comes next for students through the power of soccer.

“This is a kickoff for the entire weekend, and it has special meaning,” Jones said. “When you talk about the community, knowing how many people and kids were affected, it’s fantastic because it gives them an opportunity; a safe space to go out and have some fun as we rebuild.”

The pitch was made possible through through U.S. Soccer Federation and City National Bank, developed in collaboration with the Pasadena Unified School District and the city of Pasadena.

“When a community goes through hardship, safe places for young people to play and connect matter more than ever,” said Ed Foster-Simeon, President and CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. “This mini-pitch is about restoring joy, stability, and a sense of belonging for Pasadena’s youth, and it is especially meaningful to do so while honoring Cobi Jones, whose lifelong commitment to this community and to young people reflects the heart of this work.”

For Jones, that mission is personal.

“In the Pasadena and Altadena area, I spent years training and being involved with families here,” he said. “It was important to me then, and it’s important to me now.”

That sense of continuity — past to present, player to community, is what gives the moment its gravity.

At Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy will unveil a statue honoring Jones; a player who scored the first goal in club history and helped define the early identity of Major League Soccer in Los Angeles.

Even for Jones, the weight of that recognition is still settling in.

“It’s surreal, even though it was announced some time ago, it still doesn’t seem real. When I think about it, I take a moment and go, wow; it cements my career and validates everything I’ve done in the game and in Los Angeles,” Jones said.

Then, just as quickly, he widens the frame: “It’s more than just for me,” Jones said. “I think about all the players from those early years of MLS and the Galaxy. I want them to feel part of this, too.”

For Braun, that perspective is precisely why the moment matters.

“Cobi represents the foundation of this club,” he said. “From the very beginning, he helped define what the Galaxy stands for, and that’s something we’re still building on today.”

In that sense, Braun thinks the statue is not just recognition, but instruction as a signal to the next generation of players walking into the stadium, and to the kids now stepping onto a field in Pasadena, that legacy is something built, carried, and given forward.

At the center of that local impact is the school itself.

For Arian Whitley, principal of Octavia E. Butler Magnet Middle School, the pitch represents something deeply personal.

“My family was impacted by the fires, and I’m from this community,” Whitley said. “What this means is giving our students a sense of normalcy again; a place where they can come together, play, and just be kids.”

Whitley described how the fires disrupted not only homes but access to everyday activities, including sports, as students were displaced across the region. While programs gradually returned, the mini-pitch adds something more permanent.

“This is something in addition,” he said. “Something that belongs to the community; where kids can play day or night, and where families can gather again.”

He also pointed to the role of partnership in making it possible.

“Public-private partnerships are critical,” Whitley added. “It starts with taking the meeting, listening, and seeing what’s possible. This is just the beginning of continuing to build and upgrade what we can offer our students.”

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup and LA28 on the horizon, Los Angeles is preparing to welcome the world, but for leaders across the region, the focus is not just on the spectacle; it is on what remains.

“The opportunity is not just to host the World Cup,” Braun said. “It’s to turn that moment into something lasting; whether that’s new fans, youth engagement, or deeper roots in the community.”

Jones sees that opportunity through a broader lens. It’s an event everyone can enjoy. It’s about the game on the field, but it’s about bringing the world to our city, exposing people to Los Angeles, building community, and leaving another kind of legacy for the next generation.”

In a region often defined by its stages, from stadiums to screens, the most consequential work is happening in places like this, Braun said.

“The most important work happens outside the stadium,” Braun said. “In communities, in schools, in places where people experience the game for the first time.”

Children filtered onto the pitch, testing its edges, reclaiming space not just for play, but for presence.

For Jones, the message extends beyond soccer, beyond the weekend, beyond even the milestones being marked.

“There’s always hope,” he said. “It’s a perfect example; this is a tragic situation, but you have to look at it as a barrier, one more barrier you have to find a way to overcome. Sometimes it’s going through,over and around and it can be done.”

Michelle Edgar is a correspondent with the Southern California News Group.