St. Anthony-New Brighton School District Awarded Hennepin Youth Sports Grant
Hennepin County’s Board of Commissioners approved the 2012 Hennepin Youth Sports grants at its meeting on Tuesday, December 13. Commissioner McLaughlin explained, “this is the use of some of the sales tax money that paid for the Twins ballpark and for the expansion of youth opportunities.” The 2012 grant program included twelve awards for facility improvements which totaled almost $2.2 million and sixteen requests for small capital and equipment for $105,452. St. Anthony-New Brighton School District was awarded a $249,000 facilities grant and an additional $8700 grant for gymnastics equipment.
The facility improvements for St. Anthony-New Brighton School District include:
- Increasing the usability of space within the City of St. Anthony by constructing the City’s first and only soccer-specific facility at Wilshire Park Elementary School to meet the increasing demand of the high-growth sport and to reduce competition for time on existing fields. At Wilshire Park, recreational space will be renovated, the existing t-ball field will be reconfigured, a new youth soccer field will be constructed, and a perimeter fence will be installed.
- Increasing the usability, reducing costs, and providing a more neighborhood-friendly experience for the existing football/soccer stadium at Central Park. At the middle school/high school stadium field, an energy efficient lighting system and a perimeter fence will be installed.
McLaughlin said, ”I think it’s another great success and its going to make the lives of our young people that much better.” St. Anthony Village High School students and soccer players Mario Aleman and Natalie Pawlyshyn were in attendance at the Hennepin County Board meeting on December 13 and recognized by Commissioner Stenglein, ”This is a great program and it touches a lot of lives. In fact, there are two users here. Mario and Natalie are soccer users from St. Anthony.”