NFL GRASSROOTS PROGRAM COMMITS $2.5 MILLION TO BUILD 16 COMMUNITY FOOTBALL FIELDS IN 2005

More than 100 fields have received grants since 1998

NEW YORK (December 29, 2004) – Neighborhoods in 16 cities across the country will get new or improved community football fields, thanks to $2.5 million in grants awarded by the National Football League Grassroots Program, it was announced today.

The program, a partnership between the NFL Youth Football Fund and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), has been a catalyst for the construction or renovation of more than 100 community football fields in the last seven years. 

The fields – in Brookline, MA; Buffalo; Chicago; Cleveland; Detroit; Houston; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, FL; Nashville; Paterson, NJ; Queens, NY; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Petersburg, FL; Trenton, NJ; and Washington, DC -- will be newly built or significantly renovated with such improvements as the installation of irrigation systems, lights, bleachers, scoreboards and goal posts. 

The Grassroots Program is funded by the NFL Youth Football Fund, a $150 million program established by the NFL and the NFL Players Association to support youth football. Since 1998, the program has provided more than $12.5 million in grants that have been awarded to revitalize 116 playing fields in underserved neighborhoods located in NFL markets nationwide.

“These fields are a tangible sign of our Youth Football Fund in action,” said NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.  “The Youth Football Fund supports all aspects of youth football, from participation, to coaching, to improving the availability of playing fields.”

The program, through LISC, identifies non-profit, neighborhood-based agencies which have an interest in refurbishing or building fields in underserved communities, and through the Grassroots Program, provides financing and technical assistance to improve the quality and safety of fields in their local schools, parks and neighborhoods.  The local agencies then oversee the construction, maintenance, and programming of the fields.

“For the past seven years, the NFL and NFLPA have worked with LISC to provide safe, attractive places to play for kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods across the country,” said Michael Rubinger, LISC’s president and CEO. “We are pleased to be a part of this effort which helps to move community-based development beyond housing to include recreation, health care, education, safe streets programs, and economic development initiatives.”

“The NFL and NFL Players Association are proud to assist communities where young people aspire to play football,” said Gene Upshaw, Executive Director of NFLPA.  “This program allows us to make an immediate impact in neighborhoods where assistance is most needed.”

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