Market To Give Away Soccer Balls

There will be no shortage of soccer balls in neighborhood parks and streets this summer.

That’s because Pros Ranch Market plans to hand out nearly 1,000 of them to children for free Sunday at the store on the northwest corner of Central and Atrisco SW.

Mark Lewis, a regional spokesman for the store, said the company holds about nine community events every year in an effort to give back and to be good neighbors. He said they chose soccer balls because it’s a universal sport that many children enjoy.

“We want kids to stay healthy in the summer,” he said. “We want them to do that by staying active.”

The event will start at noon on Sunday, and also feature food tasting from companies sponsoring the event such as Kraft, Creamland and Bar S.

“We’ve always given back to the community,” he said.

Lewis said Pros Ranch usually locates its stores in “urban locations” that have been abandoned by other grocery stores and chains. The current store is located in a shopping center, owned by Pros Ranch, that once sat practically empty. It now has a Ross department store and other smaller businesses.

“We locate in neighborhoods that tend to have a Latino population,” he said. “Our goal is to make shopping fun and bring a mercado feel to the whole experience.”

Shoppers can find a variety of Mexican breads, Mexican drinks and a cafeteria-style restaurant serving traditional Mexican food in addition to groceries. Spanish music can often be heard playing from the store speakers.

“We are happy to be part of the revitalization there,” he said. “And really happy to see that shopping center almost full.”

Store manager Mario Pimental said the community events are always very popular, and he’s expecting at least 3,000 people to show up and for the free soccer balls to quickly disappear.

“Everybody loves soccer balls,” he said. “We will easily give them all away.”