MILFORD, Ohio — The Milford Exempted Village School District has been granted $250,000 by the Cincinnati Bengals through the National Football League Foundation Grassroots Program.
The grant is intended to install an artificial turf field at Milford's Charity J. Lucas Memorial Field, a multi-purpose athletic facility.
The opening ceremony event at Milford is scheduled for August, according to the athletic department.
Milford High School is a Division I program and a member of the Eastern Cincinnati Conference.
The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program is part of an ongoing program to distribute over $2.5 million to local schools.
Other Cincinnati-area schools who have already received funding from this program include South Avondale Elementary School, Bishop Brossart, Clinton-Massie High School, Covington Catholic High School, Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School, Harrison High School, La Salle High School, Lockland High School, Oak Hills High School, Taylor High School, Withrow University High School and Midway Elementary School.
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.
The grant from the Bengals, the NFL Foundation, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is part of $6 million in field refurbishment awards allocated this year to communities across the country.
"We are so grateful for the Bengals support helping make this project a reality for our student-athletes,” Milford superintendent John Spieser said in a statement.
“Milford has a proud history of athletic excellence, and it is our dream that this turf project will provide a high performance stage on which our athletes can continue to train and to win. Along with constant support from our Milford Athletic Boosters, this Bengals NFL Grassroots Grant is providing the means for Milford athletes to achieve and succeed for generations to come."
Milford athletic director Aaron Zupka said the school district has been working on the turf project for more than five years and the COVID-19 pandemic has presented fundraising challenges.
"This grant couldn't have come at a more perfect time," Zupka said.
"I'm excited about the additional opportunities we can now provide the Milford Community because of this project through enriching, life-changing extracurricular activities for all ages."
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