A Better Place to Play Campaign receives $50,000 donation from J.F. Electric to help fund new sports park

The new Sports Park will have something for everyone. The green space will include softball, baseball and soccer fields, as well as tennis and pickleball courts. The most recent donation will be used towards creating much needed recreational space for those select ball and soccer teams in need of fields. J.F. Electric is excited about partnering with the City of Edwardsville for this project, and plans to continue this partnership for the duration of the City’s A Better Place to Play Campaign. Other sponsors of the Sports Park include The Plummer Family, who will receive naming rights of the park, and an anonymous donor, who helped sponsor the ADA ball field. 

Greg Fowler of J.F. Electric is excited about the partnership with the City of Edwardsville for the A Better Place to Play campaign. “We wanted to step up and do what we could to make the Sports Park a reality for our community. Supporting our local youth and their interests in sports is an important investment and one that we plan to support even further in the future. 

The Sports Park is one of three parks being funded by the A Better Place to Play campaign, which seeks donations from area businesses and individuals wishing to improve the community’s recreational offerings. A Spray & Play park at the intersection of South Main Street and Schwarz is also being funded by the campaign and is now under construction. The Spray & Play Park is expected to open in summer 2016. An Ice Rink and Teen Center to be located on the District #7 grounds is also being planned. The Ice Rink and Teen Center would help fill the need for ice time in the area and support many of the local hockey and figure skating needs.

Mayor Hal Patton said, “Working with J.F. Electric and having them support A Better Place to Play is another investment in making our community a better place to work, play, visit and live. Adding these three new parks will make this community even stronger. It will support our local businesses with additional hotel stays, restaurant visits and other retail spending and it will help facilitate the many practice and play hours needed for our local teams.”

For those interested in donating to A Better Place to Play, there are many options. Recently, the City of Edwardsville announced a new coupon booklet for businesses or individuals wanting to make monthly donations to one of the three recreational facilities or to the general fund. For more information about the campaign and how to become a sponsor, contact Katie Grable of Edwardsville Parks & Recreation at (618) 692-7538. 

The A Better Place to Play campaign partners with the Edwardsville Community Foundation so all donations are tax deductible. To donate, visit http://www.betterplacetoplay.com or http://www.edwardsvillecommunityfoundation.org. Donations may also be mailed to Edwardsville Community Foundation to P.O. Box 102, Edwardsville, IL 62025. Please make a notation on your check that the funds are to be applied to the “A Better Place to Play” Campaign. If you wish to support a specific parks project, please also notate the designated park with your donation.

 “A Better Place to Play” may also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/abetterplacetoplay and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BP2Play.