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$100,000 Grant to Upgrade North Park Athletic Field
CHICAGO, IL (May 3, 2001) - North Park University athletics got a boost Wednesday afternoon, thanks to a $100,000 grant to upgrade the university's athletic field located two blocks east of the main campus.
The gift came as a result of a grant proposal submitted by the North River Commission on behalf of the university, which is one of the commission's founding members. The grant was jointly approved by the "Fields Program" of the National Football League (NFL) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which is the largest non-profit community investment entity in the United States. Some $2.1 million in grants were awarded in 22 NFL cities last year.
The Chicago Bears organization, which supports grants for Chicago-based programs, advocated on North Park's behalf as part of the grant proposal process. Brian McCaskey, a 1982 graduate of North Park University (then college), serves as the Bears' director of player development. He and a handful of Bears representatives attended Wednesday's press conference, called to announce the NPU athletic field upgrade as well as construction of a community field at Chicago's New City YMCA. Bears players Glyn Milburn and Bryan Robinson presented football trophies to the North River Commission and New City YMCA.
The accompanying photo shows (from left) John Boston, director of community relations for the Chicago Bears; Tino Mantella, president of the YMCA of metropolitan Chicago; North Park University President David G. Horner; Andrew Mooney, senior program director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Wendy Jo Harmston, president of the North River Commission; and Chicago Bears players Robinson and Milburn.
Improvements to the North Park athletic field are part of a $14 million campaign to upgrade all athletic facilities, Horner said. Upgrades to the 80,000-square-foot renovated facility will include high-quality artificial turf for the existing football and baseball fields, improved drainage, landscaping and updated bleachers and concessions. Site preparation and construction is set to begin later this year. North Park administrators hope field improvements will be completed by the 2002 football season.
Community access for youth camps, clinics and league play is required as part of the grant award. Eight area schools supported by the North River Commission will have a voice in determining how the North Park athletic complex will serve children and teens.
"We know for certain that not only will this field help push us to championship levels, it will push us more creatively into the life of the community," Horner said.
NPU athletic director Dr. Jack Surridge said that new synthetic turf on the football field will markedly improve the athletic facilities at the complex. The field surface will be like that of the football programs at the University of Washington and the University of Nebraska. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays major league baseball franchise also uses a similar turf for its home field.
Surridge noted other changes planned for the site: football stands are to be moved further from the field, a track surrounding the football field is to be removed and a backstop will be repositioned to lengthen the dimensions of the school's baseball field. A softball field will be added on the northwest side of the complex. A movable fence will be available for both the baseball and softball fields. Plans include new competition lighting that will allow the school to host night games in football, baseball and softball.
Future upgrades to other NPU athletic facilities include expansion of North Park's gymnasium and construction of an indoor track and field/intramural sports facility a few blocks east of the campus. Surridge hopes NPU can set up a cooperative working relationship with a local
high school and a marine base in order to make best use of area athletic facilities in the future.
The North River Commission is a non-profit community development organization that unites more than 100 civic organizations, businesses and institutions to improve the northwest side community. Executive Director Joel D. Bookman and President Wendy Jo Harmston can be
contacted by phone at 773-478-0202.
LISC/Chicago is the city's largest supporter of community-based development, having raised and invested more than $200 million in the city's neighborhoods since being founded in 1980. For more information on LISC/Chicago, contact senior program director Andrew Mooney by
telephone at 312-697-6104.
For more information on the field upgrades at North Park University and its plans for other athletic facility improvements, contact Jenny Holmgren Cobbley by telephone at 773-244-5567.
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