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Multisport Youth Athletic Field in Old South End
Neighborhood
Rick and Nancy Corbett
Athletic Complex presented by Group1001 will provide local
youth with a clean, safe place to learn, play and grow
Special to The Truth
The Cal Ripken, Sr.
Foundation and the City of Toledo last week unveiled a new
youth development park located at Danny Thomas Park in the
Old South End neighborhood. Rick and Nancy Corbett Athletic
Complex presented by Group1001 features a 75,000-square-foot
multisport synthetic turf field that will be used for
football, soccer, and baseball/softball and provide local
youth with a safe outdoor place to play.
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Speakers at the ribbon
cutting ceremony included Cal Ripken, Jr., Baseball Hall of
Famer and Ripken Foundation vice-chairman; Mayor Wade
Kapszukiewicz, City of Toledo; Rick Corbett, Toledo-native &
project donor; Melissa Jacobs, Vice President, Sponsorships,
Group1001; and Steve Salem, President and CEO, Ripken
Foundation.
"The name Cal Ripken is
synonymous with excellence, and so it is no surprise that
his foundation has produced a world class sports facility,"
Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. "Toledo is the only city in Ohio
that has been awarded a Ripken field, and children of all
ages will benefit from this investment for many years to
come."
Rick and Nancy Corbett
Athletic Complex presented by Group1001 was designed for
multisport play, including dugouts, backstop, digital
scoreboard, bleachers, foul poles, soccer goals and field
lighting. The facility will serve as the central location
for the YMCA of Greater Toledo and The Believe Center
programs, directly supporting thousands of at-risk youth who
are exposed to high-risk factors, such as above-average
crime rates, families living below the poverty line, and a
high number of children being raised in single-parent homes.
Afterschool programming, such as organized team sports, is a
powerful alternative during widely unsupervised time between
3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Research suggests 29 percent of all
violent crime committed by juvenile offenders occurs during
those hours.
"Being active and playing
sports taught me so many valuable life lessons," said
Ripken. "Thanks to the City of Toledo, the generous donors
and supporters, kids in the Old South End community will
have a safe space to play and grow, and learn a lot of those
same lessons."
"Nancy and I are so excited
for the community that this great facility will be available
for youth sports in the Historic South. It is our sincere
hope that it serves as a positive place for neighborhood
kids to develop friendships, teamwork, discipline, and
healthy fun," added Corbett.
Rick and Nancy Corbett
Athletic Complex was made possible as part of a generous $5
million donation to the Ripken Foundation from Dan Towriss
and Group1001, used to build a total of 10 Youth Development
Parks with supporting programming over five years in 10
cities across the country.
"We believe that education
and sports have the power to transform communities which is
why it was so important for us to support the efforts to
bring this transformational park to the deserving Toledo
community," added Towriss.
Major charitable project
donors also includes Rick and Nancy Corbett, Group1001, the
City of Toledo, Andersons Fund Supporting Organization,
Historic South, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois (O-I),
ProMedica and KeyBank. The Ripken Foundation has completed
90 multipurpose synthetic turf facilities in 23 states and
Washington D.C.
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