1Berkshire Awarded FY25 Regional Economic Development Organization Grant

• Providing 150-200 one-on-one business consultations each year that provide tailored support and guidance to entrepreneurs and businesses at every stage in their development.
• Ongoing implementation and stewardship of the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0, the region's 10-year sustained economic development imperative. Including working with all six of the primary economic clusters, addressing housing, workforce, transportation, technology access, and other cross-cutting issues, and further cultivating a strong business and entrepreneurial support ecosystem.
• Organizing high-impact site visits that convene local, state, federal, and private-sector partners to address and catalyze around critical projects and opportunities.
• Collaboration capacity to work with key regional efforts and programs such as EforAll Berkshire County, Berkshire Funding Focus, the Berkshire Tech Impact Collaborative, and the Berkshire Brownfields Committee.
• Specific tactical support to municipalities seeking guidance and resources to support development, businesses, and ecosystem-building efforts.
• Coordination and conducting of technical assistance cohorts to provide strategic and impactful support directly to businesses, organizations, and individuals to help them start, grow, and sustain their businesses.
• Development, launch, and operation of programs and collaborations such as Entrepreneurial Meetups, the Berkshire Immigrant Entrepreneur Support Program, the Business Succession and Transition Program, and the Berkshire Economic Recovery Program.
• Convening and management of the Berkshire Economic Development Practitioners Group to maintain strong collaborations, collective action, and ongoing shared information and awareness with regional and state partners. 
• Maintenance, enhancement, and promotion of the jobs thing as a critical pipeline for workforce retention and recruitment for Berkshire County employers and job seekers.
• Management and leveraging of a regional clearinghouse of available commercial development sites to help potential businesses and industries identify, vet, and start, expand or relocate in the region.

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:35AM / Saturday, June 13, 2026

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said.