Tampa Republic

WHAT: Tampa's Parks & Recreation is officially breaking ground on newly renovated youth football fields in the Port Tampa neighborhood. CANDO Sports and the City of Tampa have been granted $100,000 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through the National Football League Foundation Grassroots Program to install natural turf fields at Southwest Port Tampa Park.

WHO: Mayor Jane Castor; Sherisha Hills, Director of Parks & Recreation; Mary Campenello, CANDO Sports; Tampa Bay Buccaneers Representative

DATE: Wednesday, June 7, 2023

TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: Southwest Port Tampa Fields, 7506 S Morton St.

NFL/LISC Grassroots Program and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Grant $100,000 To Install a Natural Turf Field at Southwest Port Tampa Park

Children’s Athletic Network and Dance Opportunities (CANDO) and the City of Tampa have been granted $100,000 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through the National Football League Foundation Grassroots Program to install a natural turf field at Southwest Port Tampa Park.

The grant from the Buccaneers, the NFL Foundation, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is part of $3 million in field refurbishment awards allocated this year.

                                                       

The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program – a partnership between the NFL Foundation and LISC, the nation’s leading community development support organization – has supported the construction or renovation of 436 football fields nationwide since 1998. During that time, the NFL Foundation has granted nearly $61.8 million to revitalize playing fields in underserved neighborhoods. Fields are newly built or significantly renovated, with improvements such as irrigation systems, lights, bleachers, scoreboards, goal posts and turf. Grassroots grants are issued once established funding thresholds are reached for each project.

“At the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we believe everyone deserves a level playing field,” said Tampa Bay Buccaneers Owner/President Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation/President Glazer Vision Foundation. Darcie Glazer Kassewitz. “We are excited to help provide the Port Tampa area with a field of its own that members of the community can be proud of, with hope that it helps inspire children to reach their potential on the athletic field and in life.”

"We are very excited to partner together with CANDO, Inc. and the NFL to kickstart this new project at the Southwest Port Tampa Fields," said Tampa Parks & Recreation Director, Sherisha Hills. "Once the site is converted to both a multi-purpose high-school football field and smaller youth field, nearby community users will soon have a home field of their own that can also seasonally be shared with other sports as well as utilized for events, clinics, camps, and even game-rentals. We are so grateful for all of the new opportunities this partnership will afford."

“We are deeply appreciative of the opportunity to partner with the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation and the NFL,” added Executive Director of CANDO, Inc., Mary Campanello.  “This new multi-purpose field will also allow us to continue our mission to provide affordable and quality sports opportunities for every youth to excel."

LISC identifies local, nonprofit, community-based agencies that have an interest in building or refurbishing football fields in schools and neighborhood parks. Through the program, local agencies are provided with the necessary financing and technical assistance to improve the quality and safety of fields in their communities. The agencies oversee the construction, maintenance and programming of the fields.

“Outdoor recreation, and the health benefits that come with it, is in high demand throughout the country,” said Beverly Smith, LISC’s vice president of Sports & Recreation. “This Tampa field – like all of those that the Grassroots Program has established over the years – will provide opportunities for young people to compete in a safe, structured environment.”

Original source can be found here.