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Phoenix, Arizona

Arizona Youth Football Federation

The Arizona Youth Football Federation, in partnership with Pop Warner, has been awarded a $50,000 grant by the NFL Grassroots Program to help finance the cost of bleachers at the Glendale Youth Sports Complex.

Pop Warner is a nonprofit organization with over 360,000 youth football program participants between the ages of 5 and 16 in the United States and other countries. Arizona Youth Football Federation (AYFF) is an all-volunteer organization that operates the Pop Warner Football Program throughout Arizona.

The Glendale Youth Sports Complex, a 13-acre facility that opened in August 2006, is operated by the City of Glendale. Phase I of the complex, completed in June 2006, includes three football fields, an electronic scoreboard, lighting and two additional multi-use fields. Three football organizations, including the AYFF, use the football and practice fields. Approximately 56,000 residents live within two miles of the complex. The Over 40 youth football teams and 200 cheerleaders and multiple soccer teams practice at the field weekly, making it the athletic home for over 1,500 youth athletes.

New bleachers are part of the second phase of the Glendale Youth Sports Complex construction, which includes a second concession stand, a press box and a sound system for the football fields. Matching funds for the bleachers were provided by the City of Glendale and funding for the Glendale Youth Sports complex has been provided by the Fiesta Bowl, Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and the Insight Bowl.

San Diego, California

San Diego Unified School District

The San Diego Unified School District was awarded a $200,000 grant by the NFL Grassroots Program to install a new synthetic sports surface at Morse High School.

San Diego Unified School District serves nearly 133,000 students and manages more than 250 educational facilities. It is the second largest district in California and eighth largest urban district in the United States.

Morse High School is in the Skyline-Paradise Hills community, a diverse, low- income neighborhood. The renovation of Morse High School football field is a three-phased process that will include new bleachers, lights, press box, exterior asphalt and a new all weather track in addition to the multipurpose synthetic playing surface. The renovated field will not only benefit the students at Morse High School, but also local Pop Warner Football teams and other community youth and recreation groups. The District will match the NFL Grassroots grant to complete the installation of the synthetic field.

Hollywood, Florida

Hollywood Police Athletic League

The NFL Grassroots Program has awarded Hollywood Police Athletic League a $25,000 grant to install new seating on its field in Northeast Hollywood, Florida.

The Police Athletic League (PAL) has a 90-year history of providing positive alternatives for youth living in at-risk communities. The Hollywood Police Department established the Hollywood PAL in 1990. It is a cooperative effort of the Hollywood Police Department, community volunteers, business leaders and citizens.

Hollywood PAL will replace three outdated, dilapidated wooden bleachers currently at its field with eight 5-row aluminum bleachers. Hollywood PAL will partner with the City of Hollywood Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts to complete the removal of the current bleachers and for continued maintenance. Hollywood PAL will provide match funding for the project through cash contributions from the Hollywood Police Department and in-kind contributions from the Department of Public Works. The field is used by not only the 200 children on the Northeast Hollywood PAL Eagles football teams, but also the 132 teams in the South Florida Youth Football League. The project has received strong support from the local community and the Miami Dolphins.

Jacksonville, Florida

Bishop John J. Snyder High School

Bishop John J. Snyder High School has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program to add security fencing and portable bleachers to the John J Snyder football field.

Bishop John High School opened its doors in August 2002 to 78 students. Since that time enrollment has grown to 420, with projected growth to reach 700 in four years. While the school's mission is based in the teachings of the Catholic Church, Bishop John High School welcomes students of all faiths. The school also provides over $100,000 in financial aid its student body.

Bishop John High School will be upgrading a secondary field that sits adjacent to its primary playing field. Currently, there is no irrigation, fencing, goalposts or seating. The secondary field will be used as a practice field and by community-based youth organizations such as the YMCA, Pop Warner Football and NFL Flag Football. The school's athletic booster club has provided the match funding for the project.

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools will use a $200,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program to replace the existing grass field at Lane Stadium with a synthetic sports surface.

Chicago Public Schools System (CPS) is the third largest in the nation in terms of student population and the second largest employer in the State of Illinois. Lane Technical High School, in Chicago 's North Center neighborhood, has an extremely diverse student body, 59 percent of whom are from low-income households. Lane Stadium, built in the 1940s and featured in the movie “Wildcats,”� is a Chicago landmark. In addition to the installation of the synthetic sports surface, the renovation of Lane Stadium will also include a new running track and new lighting.

The NFL Grassroots grant will be matched with funds allocated from Chicago Public School 's budget and its partner organizations that include: the Lane Tech Football Booster Club, the Field of Dreams Committee, the Lane Tech Century Foundation, the Chicago Force, and the Chicago Park District.

East St. Louis, Illinois

East St. Louis School District 189

The NFL Grassroots Program has awarded the East St. Louis School District a $200,000 grant to help install a synthetic sports surface at Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium.

The city of East St. Louis is a low-income community that has seen dramatic population loss over the last 10 years due to inadequate housing, lack of economic development and increased crime. While Clyde Jordan Memorial Stadium is the primary playing field for three middle schools and the high school, the East St. Louis School District within the last year has made improvements to the stadium to spur increased field usage by the community. These improvements include a new scoreboard, a new public address system and new roofing and gutters.

East St. Louis School District will match the NFL Grassroots grant with funds from its own budget to complete the project. In addition to middle school and high school football, the stadium is used by the Centreville Little League Football programs.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis Parks Foundation

The NFL Grassroots Program has awarded the Indianapolis Parks Foundation a $50,000 grant to upgrade the football field at Christian Park.

The Indianapolis Parks Foundation (IPF) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the recreational, educational and cultural life of the Indianapolis community by fostering support for the Department of Parks & Recreation in Indianapolis. Over the past 15 years, IPF has provided more than $7.5 million in funding for programming, maintenance and capital needs.

Christian Park is a 73-acre community park that includes a football field, baseball fields, playground, spray pool, greenway trail and community center. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a component of the 3,400-acre historic Indianapolis Park and Boulevard system. The football field at Christian Park, established more than 30 years ago, is used by the Christian Park Neighborhood Council, a group of local residents who manage youth programming, including the Christian Park Youth Football League. Christian Park Youth Football League has approximately 200 children registered in its football and cheerleading programs.

Improvements to the football field at Christian Park will include improved drainage systems, upgraded seating and concession areas, and new goal posts, scoreboard, and irrigation system. Indiana Parks and Recreation will supply the match funding to help complete the project.

Baltimore, Maryland

Chesapeake Magnet High School

The NFL Grassroots Program will award Chesapeake Magnet High School a $50,000 grant to upgrade its football field with a new press box and permanent bleacher seating.

Chesapeake Magnet High School is a comprehensive high school serving the Essex and Middle River communities in Baltimore County. Originally an “open space”� school when it opened its doors in1977, Chesapeake received a federal grant in 2005 to become a magnet school with four academies: leadership, arts, business and science.

The Essex and Middle River communities are both diverse, low-income neighborhoods in need of quality recreational space. Over 14 percent of children are below the poverty level and more than 56 percent of households receive some form of public assistance. Also, 49 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch.

In addition to NFL Grassroots funds, Chesapeake will also receive financial support from Baltimore County Recreation and Parks and The Chesapeake High School Booster Club. When the project is complete, it will be the first time in Chesapeake 's 29-year history that the football field will have permanent seating.

Detroit, Michigan

Think Detroit Police Athletic League

Think Detroit Police Athletic League has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program to assist in the cost of installing bleachers and interior fencing at Plymouth Educational Center 's football field.

Think Detroit Police Athletic League (Think Detroit PAL) was formed on March 1, 2006 when the Detroit Police Athletic League and Think Detroit merged to bring together their combined expertise. Detroit PAL has 37 years of experience connecting Detroit children with police officers and volunteers through various youth programs. Think Detroit has served the Detroit area for nine years and has been recognized for excellence in youth programming and business operations. Think Detroit PAL's mission is to build character in young people through athletic, academic and leadership development programs.

Plymouth Educational Center is a public school academy founded in 1995 that serves over 900 students in grades K-8 in the Chene community of Detroit. Thousands of children use the Center's football field through school-based athletic activities and community-based youth sports programs, including the largest non-school tackle football program in the country.

New bleachers and fencing will complement the overall renovation of the field that began in the summer of 2006. Plymouth has successfully raised match funding to pay for the field renovation, which also includes a synthetic sports surface.

St. Paul, Minnesota

Selby Area Community Development Corporation

The NFL Grassroots Program has awarded the Selby Area Community Development Corporation a $200,000 grant to build a synthetic football field at Jimmy Lee Recreation Center.

Selby Area Community Development Corporation (SACDC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to implementing physical development projects to benefit the Summit University area. SACDC is experienced at building partnerships with a broad range of entities and has been the catalyst for bringing close to $3 million dollars of investment to its service area in the last three years.

Jimmy Lee Recreation Center is a centrally located facility in the Summit University neighborhood. With the completion of the project, there will be a dedicated synthetic turf football field at Jimmy Lee Recreation Center. Anticipated programming will include expansion of the youth tackle football program, youth football league games, tournaments and camps, youth soccer, and adult soccer, rugby and lacrosse. The City of Saint Paul and Saint Paul Public School District will provide match funding for the project.

Kansas City, Missouri

Hickman Mills C-1 School District

The Hickman Mills School District will use a $200,000 grant awarded by the NFL Grassroots Program to replace District Football Stadium's existing grass field with an artificial playing surface.

Hickman Mills School District is a first tier suburban area of 32 square miles in southeastern Kansas City, serving a population of roughly 7,100 students in 14 different schools.

The NFL Grassroots funding will be matched with a capital outlay from the district budget. The renovated stadium will spur increased community use at District Football Stadium. Currently, because of poor field conditions, football games are played at five different locations. To date, multiple youth football and track programs have committed to using the new field when it is complete.

Newark, New Jersey

The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land has been awarded a $200,000 NFL Grassroots Program grant to install a synthetic sports surface at Nat Turner Park.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit land conservation organization working to preserve land for people as parks, gardens, rural lands, wilderness areas, greenways and watershed lands. Nationwide, TPL has conserved more than 2.2 million acres of land in 46 states. Through its Parks for People initiative, TPL's mission is to ensure a park is within reach of every child in America.

Nat Turner Park, a vacant lot in Newark 's Central Ward, is within a quarter-mile radius of approximately 5,800 residents, including 2,000 children under the age of 18.

TPL has raised the match funding necessary for the design and construction of Nat Turner Park, which will be developed in two phases. Phase I will include a playground, a multi-use community event plaza, a skating area, and fencing and sidewalks around the parks perimeter. Phase II will include a synthetic multi-use athletic field that will accommodate football and soccer, regulation-size running track, walking and biking trails and an amphitheater.

Brooklyn, New York

Franklin D. Roosevelt High School

The NFL Grassroots Program has awarded Franklin D. Roosevelt High School a $200,000 grant to help convert a neighboring schoolyard to a synthetic football field.

Franklin D Roosevelt High School was formed 41 years ago to accommodate the population growth of the central Brooklyn community. Today, student enrollment is approximately 3,393. FDR High began its football program in 2005, but does not have a football field on campus. Meanwhile, the demand on the already crowded New York City Parks system has left the FDR High School Cougars without a field on which to practice or play home games.

The head coach and administrators at Franklin D Roosevelt decided to turn a large blacktop behind the school into a synthetic surface practice area. The new field will be 50 yards long and will be used for soccer as well as football and available for community use. Councilman Simcha Felder has committed to providing match funding to assist in completing the project.

Durham, North Carolina

Durham Eagles Athletic Association

The Durham Eagles Athletic Association has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program to upgrade the field conditions at Lowes Grove Middle School Football Field.

The Durham Eagles Athletic Association, founded in 1994, is a nonprofit organization chartered and licensed by Pop Warner Youth Football. The Eagles field 11 youth football teams and serve nearly 300 boys, many coming from low-income communities.

With the NFL Grassroots grant and matching funds from various local corporate sponsors, the Durham Eagles will install permanent lighting, irrigation upgrades, a new scoreboard and bleachers at Lowes Grove Middle School. GVA Advantis Construction will supply the match funding for the project with both in-kind and a cash grant contribution. The project has strong community support and has been endorsed by Durham Mayor William Bell, Durham Public Schools, Duke University and The YMCA.

Providence, Rhode Island

Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Providence at Rhode Island Hospital

The NFL Grassroots Program has awarded the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Providence (IFCK) a $200,000 grant to help convert the grass football field at Classical High School to a synthetic playing surface.

Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Providence is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based at the Rhode Island Hospital Injury Prevention Center (IPC). It is a partnership of 40 hospital-based, community-oriented sites throughout the country aimed at preventing injuries among children through education, research and advocacy.

The proposed field renovation project includes not only the installation of a synthetic playing surface, but also new bleachers, a press box, new goal posts and new lighting. When complete, the renovated field will be available to not only football players at Classical High School but also the greater community.

In addition to NFL Grassroots funds, the project will receive financial support from the City of Providence's Parks Department, The Champlin Foundation, The Kraft Foundation, and Rhode Island Housing.

Dickson, Tennessee

Dickson County School District

The Dickson County School District will use a $20,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program to upgrade the irrigation systems at Creek Wood High School and William James Middle School.

Dickson County school system serves more than 8,000 students in grades k-12 at 15 sites, including eight elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, an alternative school and an adult high school. Creek Wood High School and William James Middle School both serve low-income areas where the poverty rate is over 40 percent. The athletic fields at these schools are used not only for school recreation programs, but for community youth football as well. The two fields host eight youth football teams at three different levels.

The irrigation system at Creek Wood High School is currently controlled at three locations. Unfortunately, these locations have been susceptible to lightning strike surges and have incurred four strikes over the past four years, destroying the controller components on each occasion. The project will centralize the control in one location, provide surge protection and upgrade the entire system. The irrigation system at William James is 15 years old and outdated. This project will upgrade the system with a new station control and rotors. Both Creek Wood and William James have allocated funds in their budgets to match the NFL grant.

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville Alliance for Public Education

Nashville Alliance for Public Education, in partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools, will use a $60,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program for capital improvements at Ewing Park and Dalewood middle schools.

Nashville Alliance for Public Education is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) whose mission is to align private support for public education. The Nashville Alliance is the vehicle for all private sector gifts to Metro Nashville Public Schools. Since its inception, Nashville Alliance has raised more than $5 million for Nashville Public Schools.

Metro Nashville Public School System manages 134 schools, serving 74,000 students. Over the past several years, the Metro Schools Business and Facilities Office has planned, managed, implemented and supervised more than $250 million in capital improvements projects for Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Ewing Park and Dalewood middle schools are both in low-income neighborhoods of Nashville Davidson County. Ewing Park is in the White Creek section and Dalewood is located just northeast of the central downtown area. Both schools draw students from low- to moderate-income families where over 80 percent of the student body receives free or reduced lunch.

The NFL Grassroots award will be used to secure bleachers, goal posts, a scoreboard and fencing for Dalewood. Upgrades at Ewing Park will include an ADA sidewalk, bleachers, repairs to the press box, refurbished goal posts and security fencing. The improvements at the two schools will affect approximately 1,000 students per year. Metro Nashville Public Schools will provide matching funds to complete the project.

Dallas, Texas

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, Inc.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas was awarded a $50,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program to provide amenities to a new football field adjacent to its location in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas (BGCD) has been serving Dallas ' underprivileged youth for more than four decades. Today, BGCD serves more than 22,000 children per year. BGCD offers more than 30 guidance and developmental programs, six days a week, twelve months a year. All of BGCD's 11 sites are strategically located in areas where 88 percent of families live at or below the poverty line. Two are in public housing projects. The Boys & Girls Club in Grand Prairie is in a diverse, low-income area surrounded by subsidized housing.

The new football field will be adjacent to the Grand Prairie Boys and Girls Club. Currently the field is used for recreational activities and football practice but does not have goal posts or bleachers. The project will add these amenities along with fencing so that the field can be used for organized games. Once the field is developed, it will be used by 2,400 youth football players, 800 cheerleaders, 780 baseball players, 390 softball players and countless community youth who are involved in recreational activities at the Club and the local YMCA throughout the year. Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas will provide the match funding for this project and is committed to maintaining the field.

Houston, Texas

South Campus Sports Association

South Campus Sports Association will use a $200,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots Program to install a synthetic turf field at the South Campus Sports Complex.

The South Campus Sports Association (SCSA) was created in 2002 as a nonprofit collaboration between five youth sports leagues, all of which lacked the field space they needed to meet the ever increasing demand for youth sports. Together they purchased five acres of open land from Stella Link Redevelopment Association, a community development group working to revitalize the area along the Stella Link corridor. The leagues that make up SCSA are: Southwest Football League, Houston Youth Lacrosse, West University Little League, West University Soccer Club and West University Softball Association.

The South Campus Sports Complex will include 17 regulation fields for five different sports, including three football fields, and will serve over 4,500 young people from 60 different Houston zip codes. South Campus Sports Association has secured match funding from the Fondren Foundation and the CFP Foundation. There will also be lighting at each field, storage facilities for equipment, new parking areas, fencing and walking paths. The project has received support from Houston Mayor Bill White, the Houston Texans, the City of Houston Parks and Recreation department, and various community organizations.

Seattle, Washington

Northwest Parks Foundation

The NFL Grassroots Program has awarded the Northwest Parks Foundation a $200,000 grant to install a synthetic sport surface at the Sports Park for Amateur Recreation in King County (SPARK).

Northwest Parks Foundation is a private Washington-based, nonprofit corporation founded in 2002 to address the lack of funding for regional sports fields, recreation facilities and parks. Northwest leverages private dollars to improve recreation opportunities for all citizens by helping to subsidize municipal amenities.

The SPARK facility, a $12 million dollar project that will cover 27 acres and consist of five synthetic fields, will be used for youth football, rugby, lacrosse, field hockey and soccer. The site will also include lighting, meeting rooms, equipment storage facilities and an awards pavilion. In addition to NFL Grassroots funding, Northwest Parks Foundation has raised funds and secured major financial support from King County Parks & Recreation and Scarsella Brothers Incorporated. Northwest will also receive financing through municipal backed, nonprofit bonds.