The National Football League Grassroots Program is supporting the development and renovation of community fields with 15 new grants totaling $2.5 million being directed to schools, parks and facilities across the country, it was announced today.
A partnership between the NFL Youth Football Fund and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the NFL Grassroots Program has awarded more than $32.5 million in grants over 14 years to local nonprofits focused on the health and welfare of their communities, especially the children in their neighborhoods. The latest round of grants supports new and upgraded fields in the following NFL markets:
| Team Affiliation | Field Location |
| Atlanta Falcons | Atlanta, GA; Park Pride |
| Carolina Panthers | Spartanburg, SC; Spartanburg County School District #7 |
| Chicago Bears | Chicago, IL; Take the Field initiative |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Alexandria, KY; Campbell County School District |
| Cleveland Browns | Grafton, OH; Midview Local School District |
| Denver Broncos | Pueblo, CO; Pueblo City Schools Education Foundation |
| Detroit Lions | Detroit, MI; Detroit Edison Public School Academy |
| Green Bay Packers | West Allis, WI; West Allis-West Milwaukee School District |
| New Orleans Saints | New Orleans, LA; Bayou District Foundation |
| New York Giants | Newark, NJ: Ironbound Community Corporation |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia, PA; Philadelphia Recreation Advisory Council |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Penn Hills, PA; Penn Hills High School |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Clearwater, FL; Clearwater for Youth, Inc. |
| Tennessee Titans | Madison, TN; Project Reflect, Inc. |
| Washington Redskins | Washington, DC; Friendship Public Charter School |
“Community fields are the pillars of neighborhoods across the country, places where families can ‘play 60’ together in a safe environment, said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We are pleased to join with LISC and our teams to provide young people with access to quality playing fields.”
“Health and safety in sports should be a priority at every level,” said NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. “The field improvements made by this important program will be a tremendous benefit active youth across the country. The players of the NFL also applaud these nonprofits for their work to better our communities.”
The NFL Grassroots Program is administrated by the NFL Youth Football Fund and LISC, the nation’s leading community development support corporation. The program has resulted in the construction or renovation of 256 football fields nationwide since its inception. 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.
Additionally, USA Football, the national governing body for youth and amateur football and Official Youth Football Development Partner of the NFL, will provide youth football leagues scheduled to use the refurbished fields with health and safety information, coaching certification courses, and safety background checks for coaches and volunteers to help improve their programs and operations.
