Kids’ Soccer League Gets the Boot When Church Sells Gym to Developer

It is 4:30 p.m. on a Friday at a building that once housed a school, a convent and a gym of the Holy Name of Jesus parish on W. 97th St. and Amsterdam Ave., and a group of eight-year-old boys is rolling up their socks and tying their laces for their second-to-last soccer practice ever in the building.

Eric Kipoliongo, head coach of Stage 10 Football Club, gives instructions to his fellow coaches to get the boys started on “footwork only!”

Sounds are heard of soccer balls bouncing against the paint-chipped walls of the rec center, and of “Hey! Pass over here!” from the boys who just want to start the game. The 136-year-old Gothic church of the Holy Name will survive the sale, but the school shut down in 2010. Since then, the gym space has been a reasonably priced neighborhood home for soccer leagues like Stage 10, as well as many other sports clubs. But on Feb. 15, the sounds of kids playing will be heard no more.

Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group signed an agreement to buy the property as part of a $96 million deal and intend to demolish the buildings to put up affordable housing. The gym where the boys are playing is still called the Franciscan Community Center, even though the religious order that once served Holy Name has been gone since 2020. The gothic church on 207 West 96th Street, an ornate church with five alters including one with an onxy carving of Da Vinci’s last supper painting is not involved in the sale and will continue its ministry.

The Archdiocese has been accelerating its sale of unused parish buildings in recent years. It’s part of an effort to raise a $300 million fund to settle over 1,300 remaining cases from the sexual abuse scandal by clergy which stretched back decades. Many of the buildings being targeted for sale are in Manhattan, where many parishes have faced rapidly declining parish populations for years. Holy Name had absorbed the nearby St. Gregory the Great parish which closed its doors to regular services in 2015 and was deconsecrated in 2017.

The deal for the buildings at Holy Name was originally expected to close in April and the sports leagues thought they’d be safe until warmer weather arrived and they could move the games to the outdoors. But the parish was informed a couple of weeks ago that the closing date has been pushed up to March.

Kipoliongo, as well as the kids and parents of Stage 10, are now forced to relocate/ “I mean, it’s hard,” he said, “if you planned something for up until April, and then you have to adjust last minute...But the community has been good. Most of their families that are with me have been helping with references and telling me where I should look.”

He has scouted a few locations nearby. The biggest concern now is price, and whether or not these spaces are accommodating for a league of this size which has about 200 kids. “For my program to survive... I’m at a size now where I need a place for these guys to play.” Currently, Kipoliongo pays $100 per hour to rent the three floors of the community center, while other spaces can go up to $200/hr for less square footage.

Born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kipoliongo immigrated to the US when he was eight years old. In 2020, he started the Stage 10 academy after building his private soccer lesson business. He began utilizing the community center to host practices for the winter soccer season in 2022. Unlike many other recreation centers on the upper west side, this space has three floors with lots of space for the kids to use, so Kipoliongo can host multiple practices simultaneously.

Although it is tough on the coach, the kids are the ones who really suffer. Leo Green, eight-year-old son of father Peter Green, has been with the league since November: “I feel sad because now everyone wants to make luxury apartments and there’s no more space for stuff like this,” said Green. The rec center is only a few blocks from his son’s public school, making it convenient for the passionate young goalie to attend practice on time every week. Not only has this been a place for him to master his craft, but Green has also made some important friendships here. There are some friends that he only gets to see during practice. Peter sees how much of an impact Kipoliongo’s league has had on Leo: “It’s kind of like the center of his existence.” Even when all seems lost, Peter remains optimistic for Stage10: “It would be a shame if it has to stop...but this is New York. It’s a city filled with ingenuity, and I’m sure somebody will come up with some kind of good solution.”

Gabriela Molina is a mother to her two boys, Manuel and Nico. The family moved to New York from Spain in April of 2025, and Manuel has been signed up for Stage 10 since May. The younger boy, Nico, joined the league a month after his older brother. Manuel practices every Tuesday and Friday, while Nico just has Friday to look forward to: “Every day he asks, ‘When is it Friday?’” said Molina. The boys are so happy with their after-school practices that Molina has refrained from telling them the news of the eviction and potential relocation, “I’m waiting until Eric can find a solution because I don’t want to tell them that there won’t be soccer anymore,” she said.

Kipoliongo hopes to find a place soon, or for the weather to get warmer, so maybe they can start practicing outside. For Kipoliongo, it’s more than just a rec center, “I really just need some comfort to sleep at night...this place was like a home in the winter, so I need a new home where...I can continue to provide what I’m providing for the kids.”