How the Tennessee Titans helped Memphis Shelby PAL get funds for football stadium renovation
Craig Littles said he felt like a kid on Christmas Day at Charles Greenhill Stadium in Frayser on Thursday afternoon. A vision he had for years was finally coming to fruition.
With help from the Tennessee Titans — through the NFL Grassroots program — and the Shelby County Commission, Charles Greenhill Stadium is getting the makeover it needs. The Titans and Shelby County Commission each donated $250,000 to the Memphis Shelby Police Activities League to go toward renovating the stadium.
"I grew up out here … I’ve policed out here, I used to play on this field as a youth,” said Littles, the Founder and Director of Memphis Shelby PAL. “So for it to be shut down and closed down for all these years, and for us to be able to get this from the city and revitalize it through the Tennessee Titans and sheriff's department and our county commissioners has been a game-changer.”
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Thursday was the groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the first of four stages of the $8 million project. The first stage is getting the field renovated with turf. The following stages include getting the bleachers re-done new lights and locker rooms installed as well. Though the PAL used the field the last five years, it hasn't had any other use in nearly two decades.
“We’ve worked with Memphis Shelby PAL and other grant opportunities," said Josh Corey, Director of Marketing, Youth and Community Engage with the Titans. "We’re very familiar with the work that they do in this community and across Shelby County and they are a perfect fit for our mission of serving the community.”
Littles was thrilled to finally get his application accepted by the Titans after submitting multiple applications for the grant money. It’s a start for the Memphis Shelby PAL to getting a safe environment for kids to play athletics on in the Frayser community.
Not only will the field be used for PAL, which serves ages 5-18 through after school and summer activities, but several Memphis area high schools will be able to call the field home too. There's no other safe fields in the Frayser community for high schools to use, according to Littles. So, teams would have to travel to Crump Stadium, Melrose Stadium or Whitehaven Stadium to occasionally play home games
Charles Greenhill Stadium is the latest field in the Memphis area to receive renovations.
"It came when it needed to,” Littles said of finally getting the grant. “... This jump started the whole process and the fundraising efforts. “We needed the Tennessee Titans and LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) to jump on board to attract other donors.”
Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on Twitter @wynstonw__.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee Titans help Memphis Shelby PAL renovate football stadium
