The Current Pop Warner Challengers field at Plamann Park. June 28, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Fox Valley Pop Warner Football, Inc. is one of just 15 organizations nationwide to receive a grant from the NFL Foundation, officials announced Tuesday.
In total, $3.15 million is being distributed to community organizations, schools and parks across the country to support the development or refurbishment of neighborhood football fields. The fields in these communities will be newly built or significantly renovated, with improvements including new irrigation systems, lights, bleachers, scoreboards, goalposts and turf.
Fox Valley Pop Warner Football’s $50,000 award will help fund improvements at the Challenger Accessible Football Field at Plamann Park in Appleton, which broke ground in June.
Designed for the Pop Warner Challenger League — an inclusive sports program that enables children with disabilities to play football — the field is ADA-compliant and the first of its kind in Wisconsin. The project previously received a $200,000 grant from the Green Bay Packers.
Another grant recipient in this funding cycle is the St. Francis Public School District in suburban Milwaukee, which received $250,000 to install a synthetic turf field at St. Francis High School.
“For 25 years, the NFL Foundation and [Local Initiatives Support Corporation] have partnered on the Grassroots Field Grant Program to help our youth stay healthy and have fun through the development of community football fields,” said NFL Vice President of Philanthropy and Executive Director of the NFL Foundation Alexia Gallagher. “We’re privileged to play a vital role in communities across the country and look forward to expanding and building on our impact in the years to come.”
Since the Grassroots Field Grant Program’s inception, nearly $65 million has been distributed to community organizations and schools across the country, resulting in the creation or refurbishment of 437 football fields.
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