Some people walk past an empty Oakland lot and think nothing of it. But best friends Max Ornstill and Dylan Autran saw something special as they surveyed a desolate street corner in Jack London Square. It was exactly the space they needed.
The two met as kids playing the sport that just took the world by storm this summer. They went on to play soccer professionally, traveling the United States and worldwide. Ornstill represented his hometown by playing for the Oakland Roots, and Autran played in Europe where the love of his life, his wife Jordan Joselba, also played pro.
They traveled from one city to the next, kicking that black-and-white ball across various countries abroad, where they noticed something different—“third spaces” in the form of a soccer pitch. People would drop in for free, play, compete and just … hang out. So when they returned to the Bay Area they brought the souvenir home with them, and a pop-up called Neighborhood Sports Club (NSC) was born.
“There are people who want to support this sport but just really don’t have a place to do it,” Ornstill said. “And so I started just kicking around the concept. Then one day we kind of said to one another, ‘Do we really want to try this and take a stab at making it happen officially and taking it seriously?’ And it was a unanimous ‘yes’ from all of us.”
But the pop-ups weren’t enough—they wanted a home to call their own. So the trio launched a nonstop search for four years until they picked a place at Second and Oak streets. They navigated a complex permitting process, and put up a pitch and a coffee shop/merch store on-site. Ornstill recalled the hurdles.
“A lot of the planners didn’t really understand how these things could coexist,” he said, “but we always felt confident in seeing this abroad, and feeling that just because it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean it shouldn’t. Even more reason to try … because there’s something to prove that this could be a special combination of positive things that work well together.”
Over time city leaders took to the vision and offered support. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee cut a ribbon at the opening ceremony, held just in time for the World Cup craze. Soon diehard fútbol fans of all ages, backgrounds and experience descended upon the turf playing pickup games, taking classes and joining a tournament. On the sidelines, parents held up their babies to watch, toddlers kicked around a ball and friends cheered others along from the stands. Looking around, the NSC founders recognized they hadn’t just built a soccer pitch, they’d built a community.
“I grew up playing this sport,” Joselba said. “It brought me my husband, all my friends, memories. But it also brought me everything that has built me today through my character, through my work ethic, my creativity. It [also] brought me community, and [when] I was done playing professionally, I was lacking that community. I think it’s such a cool way to bring people together.”
People who don’t even play are drawn just to watch or have a delicious bite to eat, as NSC now hosts its own pop-up kitchens. Chef Luis Eduardo poured some of his Que Pique spicy vinegar over shredded lamb tacos he cooked up alongside chef Magdalenda “Lena” O’Neal of Silky’s Southern Comfort, as he recalled how they met at the pitch—a testament to NSC’s goal to bring people together beyond the gol. Before transitioning to cooking fulltime, Eduardo actually worked as a commercial real estate consultant touring sites with the NSC founders.
“It feels like such a full-circle moment,” Eduardo said. “It’s crazy, because I met them four years ago when it was just a dream. I know how hard they worked to get it, because we looked at dozens of spaces. I love to see people doing stuff in the Bay, and if it doesn’t exist you have to make it exist—and that’s what they did.”
And in turn, Eduardo’s dream came true too. While the heat of fútbol fandom may be simmering with the end of the World Cup, NSC continues to foster connections through a space that was missing from The Town for far too long—until now.
To find out more, visit neighborhoodsc.com.
