Community providers and councilors used the hearing to press for operational fixes they say are needed to translate the administration's ambition into more participation.

Multiple speakers told the committee that lack of basic infrastructure ' bathrooms, lights, reliable maintenance and available indoor gym time ' limits programming. "It's the canary in the coal mine: you can't provide bathrooms for the kids; what else?" a councilor said during questions about JP Soccer and Millennium Park. Community leaders said programs frequently pay for temporary solutions: one speaker said his organization brings portable lights and pays for porta-potties; another described weekly cleaning schedules the nonprofit funds for field sanitation.

Alf Graecom, a Jamaica Plain youth-soccer leader, urged the city to treat athletic fields as social infrastructure rather than an afterthought. "Somewhere along the way, we, here in the city, accepted that our athletic facilities would be inferior to the suburbs," Graecom said, and he called for a strategic, data-driven plan that assesses demand, availability, hours of access and maintenance needs.

Panelists urged changes the city can take quickly and those that require budget decisions. Near-term fixes include permitting transparency (showing who has a permit and when), improving coordination between BCYF, Parks and BPS so school custodians can open facilities when needed, and expanding referee and coach pipelines (paid junior-referee programs and trainings). Longer-term asks include dedicated maintenance funding rather than capital-only investments and consideration of turf or lights where they expand useful hours.

Providers also outlined operating costs to illustrate scale: Parkway Youth Soccer said it serves about 1,400 children; Jamaica Plain Youth Soccer said its annual operating budget is roughly $120,000 for 600 kids; a nonprofit running an 8-to-10-week girls' program estimated costs of $10,000'$20,000 per session for gyms, referees, jerseys and staff stipends. Several speakers said the current Let's Play $5,000 grant is useful but insufficient to cover recurring operating expenses or the administrative fees for league membership.

City staff acknowledged the challenges and cited facilities mapping and interdepartmental meetings as tools for prioritization; staff also said some emergency relief funds exist and encouraged specific, offline follow-up to identify problem fields and permitting conflicts. Councilors closed the hearing by pledging to press for maintenance and staffing resources in the upcoming budget cycle.