Date: June 10, 2008

OAKLAND, CALIF. (June 4, 2008) – The football field at Oakland’s Ernie Raimondi Field will get new bleachers thanks in part to a $50,000 grant from the National Football League Grassroots Program, it was announced today.

The grant, awarded by the Oakland Raiders, the NFL Youth Football Fund and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), is part of $5.43 million in field refurbishment awards allocated this year to community groups in areas surrounding the 32 NFL markets.

“The Raiders are pleased to work with the NFL to provide a place for children to engage in outdoor activity and play,” said Chief Executive Amy Trask.

The Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation is as an advocate for Oakland’s parks and recreation services and facilities. Ernie Raimondi Field is currently undergoing a two-phase renovation, including a multi-purpose synthetic turf field, a new playground, site lighting, and American Disabilities Act upgrades. The Grassroots grant will be used to install four additional bleachers for the new field to accommodate players and spectators. NFL Grassroots funds will be matched with more than $1 million in donations from various foundations and private contributors.

The NFL Grassroots Program, a partnership between the NFL Youth Football Fund and LISC, the nation’s leading community development support corporation, has resulted in the construction or renovation of 170 football fields nationwide in the past decade. In the last 10 years, the NFL Youth Football Fund has granted over $20 million to revitalize playing fields in underserved neighborhoods. Fields are newly built or significantly renovated, with improvements such as irrigation systems, lights, bleachers, scoreboards, goal posts and turf.

“Fields are an integral part of creating viable and healthy communities,” said NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL, who also is a member of LISC’s national board of directors. “The development and refurbishment of these football fields gives youngsters across the country a safe place to play the game, and brings families and neighborhoods together.”

LISC identifies local, nonprofit, neighborhood-based agencies which have an interest in building or refurbishing football fields in schools and parks in underserved neighborhoods. Through the program, the local agencies are provided with the necessary financing and technical assistance to improve the quality and safety of fields in their neighborhoods. The local agencies oversee the construction, maintenance and programming of the fields.

“These fields are a critical part of our efforts to create sustainable communities – places where people want to live, work and raise families,” said MICHAEL RUBINGER, LISC’s president and CEO. “Through its contributions, the Youth Football Fund is clearly making neighborhoods better and stronger.”

About The NFL Youth Football Fund:
Established in 1998 by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the NFL Youth Football Fund seeks to use football as a catalyst to promote positive youth development, support youth and high school football needs nationwide and also ensure the health of grassroots football in future generations. Through the YFF’s youth football initiatives and support programs, youngsters are provided with opportunities to learn the game of football, get physically fit and stay involved in productive after-school activities with adult mentors.

About LISC:
LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help non-profit community development corporations revitalize underserved neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has raised more than $8.6 billion to build or rehab nearly 230,000 affordable homes and develop 32 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide. For more information, visit www.lisc.org.