PORTLAND, Ore. --- The University of Portland will dedicate its new FieldTurf practice field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex with a ceremony prior to the women’s soccer game against Florida State on Saturday night. The field will be known as Rev. Chester Prusynksi, C.S.C. Field, honoring the former accounting professor who has served the university community and been a fixture at Pilot athletic events since 1964.
The project was made possible as part of a 5-year, $5 million commitment to provide 50 world-class soccer field-building grants to communities across the United States, between Nike and the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Both will have representatives at the ceremony, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Nike brand Vice President/CFO Tom Andorfer and Matt Sicchio of the U.S. Soccer Foundation will be guest speakers at the event. Doors to the Clive Charles Soccer Complex open at 5 p.m.
The practice field is the latest component of the Clive Charles Soccer Complex upgrade. The former grass practice field was replaced by approximately 83,000 sq. ft. of FieldTurf, an artificial surface that offers all-weather playability, low maintenance, and unlimited playing time. The remaining grass section of the practice field was uprooted and replaced with a new sand-based field, similar to the current Merlo Field pitch. The 80-yard, by 80-yard section provides teams with a high-quality, natural grass playing surface.
University of Portland received a $100,000 Grant through the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s All Conditions Fields Program, which is a joint initiative with Nike’s Let Me Play initiative which leverages the power of sport to create positive change in the lives of young people. The installation of this state-of-the-art soccer field helps create greater access and opportunity for athletes of all abilities to play soccer and enjoy the physiological, social and emotional benefits of a physically active lifestyle.
This field is made possible through Let Me Play’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, which takes worn-out athletic shoes and/or footwear manufacturing materials, grinds them up into a material called Nike Grind, and uses that in creating new sports and play surfaces. It incorporates approximately 20 percent Nike Grind Rubber, a total of 44,000 pounds, and is a shining example of environmental innovation, showing how the remains from manufacturing over 175,000 pairs of sports shoes can be used to benefit both the environment and youth.
A Pilots Kids Zone will follow the dedication ceremony and a postgame fireworks display is planned at Merlo Field. The match between the Pilots and Seminoles is set to begin at 7 p.m.
Tickets are still available for the event by contacting Ticketmaster at (503) 224-4400 or by visiting ticketmaster.com.
University of Portland
The University of Portland is Oregon’s Catholic university and has been closely affiliated for more than a century with the Congregation of Holy Cross in South Bend, Indiana. U.S. News & World Report ranks the institution as one of the top five regional universities in the American West. It is the only school in Oregon to offer a College of Arts & Sciences, a graduate school, and nationally accredited programs in the schools of business, education, engineering, and nursing. Portland is an NCAA Division I member institution of the West Coast Conference which fields 16 varsity athletic programs.
United States Soccer Foundation
The U.S. Soccer Foundation was established in 1994 to manage the surplus funds generated by the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States. As the major charitable arm of soccer in the U.S., the Foundation has invested more than $45 million in the game, supporting hundreds of projects and touching every state in the country over the last decade. The Foundation provides grants focused on developing players, coaches and referees and building or enhancing fields and soccer complexes, with a special emphasis on economically disadvantaged youth in urban communities. For more information, or to donate online, please visit ussoccerfoundation.org.
NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; NIKE Bauer Hockey, Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, a leading designer and marketer of luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.
LET ME PLAY
Let Me Play – Nike’s new signature community effort – will expand the company’s commitment to sports and physical fitness for youth through the recognition that by playing sports, young people can make themselves, their communities and their world better. In additional to building surfaces for play, Let Me Play provides grants and product donations to support young people in their quest for sport; and it brings volunteers, organizations and decision-makers together to improve opportunities that help youth grow up healthy and active.
FieldTurf
For many years, Nike and the U.S. Soccer Foundation have had strategic alliances with FieldTurf, a leading innovator of synthetic grass surfaces. FieldTurf's high-performance synthetic grass incorporates Nike Grind material recycled from footwear manufacturing to help elite athletes and active kids to play their best game. FieldTurf emulates real grass using a smooth, coated fiber, an open-weave system that contains a combination of Nike Grind and other rubber material and sand infill. FieldTurf, which received the first FIFA Certification for a synthetic grass surface in 2001, is the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s National Partner for Synthetic Grass Soccer Field Surfaces. For more information visit www.fieldturf.com.
