Guaranteed Rate Bowl field donated to Phoenix Boys & Girls Club branch

Phoenix kids at the Colangelo Branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley have a brand new football field to play on, thanks to the Fiesta Bowl Charities and APS.

Every year, the Guaranteed Rate Bowl installs a football field inside Chase Field ahead of the big game. And every year, the organization donates the field to an organization in need when the game is over.

Though the bowl game was canceled this past year due to the pandemic, the never-before-played-on field was still donated.

“The field donation has become one of our favorite postgame traditions,” Patrick Barkley, Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl Chair of the Board of Directors, said in a press release. “After the field is used in Bowl Season, we recycle it and donate to a community in need each year.

“Kids need a place to play and be active, and there is no better place to do so than on a field meticulously maintained for a college football bowl game.”

The 80,000 square-foot field, along with a scoreboard, was ceremoniously unveiled to the community on Tuesday for the club’s inaugural Day of Play.

Boys & Girls Club of the Valley CEO Marcia Mintz said the donation will have a large impact on Arizona kids and help create a space they’ll be excited to play on.

“In a year of a pandemic, the club has been a safe space to learn and enjoy their friends, and outdoor sports have been a major part of that fun,” Mintz said in the release.

“We recognize the significance of this investment. Not only did Fiesta Bowl and APS honor their plans for a new field, they have gone above and beyond to create a place that everyone will be proud of!”

The Fiesta Bowl and APS have partnered on five previous fields donations to communities in Maryvale, Avondale, Laveen, Bullhead City and Phoenix.

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