MILFORD, Ohio — The Milford High School athletic department is celebrating the completion of the Charity J. Lucas Multi-Purpose Athletic Complex on Friday.
The Cincinnati Bengals, NFL Foundation and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) teamed up to contribute $250,000 to Milford Exempted Village Schools to support the installation of a new turf field.
A grand reopening ceremony will be held at the complex at 9 a.m. Friday.
The event will include a football skills and drills competition for youth and grades K-8, as well as a 7-on-7 challenge for students in grades K-12, according to a Bengals news release.
"We are so grateful for the Bengals support helping make this project a reality for our student-athletes," Milford Superintendent John W. Spieser said.
"Milford has a proud history of athletic excellence and it is our dream that this turf project will provide a high-performance stage on which our Eagle athletes can continue to train and to win. Charity Lucas Memorial Field is located in front of our high school, and has high visibility in our community. Along with constant support from our Milford Athletic Boosters, the NFL Grassroots Grant is providing the means for Milford athletes to achieve and succeed for generations to come."
A Milford High School news release said the project was privately funded through the generation contributions of the Milford Athletic Boosters, the Cincinnati Bengals and FC Cincinnati. The completion of this upgrade comes nearly a decade after installation of turf at Eagle Stadium Powered by Cullen Electric, another project funded privately by the Milford Athletic Boosters.
Friday will feature two components, football activities in the morning, followed by soccer festivities in the afternoon and evening.
After a break until mid-afternoon, soccer will take center stage for the balance of the day. At 3 p.m., alumni of the Milford men’s and women’s soccer programs are invited to take part in a special alumni match.
A grand re-opening ceremony is scheduled to follow.
The night concludes with a varsity soccer doubleheader featuring Milford welcoming Colerain. The girls game starts at 5 p.m. with the boys teams taking the field at 7 p.m.
The athletic complex will provide access to safe and reliable field space for the student-athletes of Milford High School along with a number of other extra-curricular activities available to students, according to a release.
The newly-replaced field will also expand the opportunities for community partnerships with other youth organizations, providing additional field space for youth programs across the area.
"We are beyond ecstatic to receive the NFL Grassroots grant and support from the Cincinnati Bengals to provide a synthetic turf field to our thousands of student-athletes in our district," Milford athletic director Aaron Zupka said.
"We've been working on this turf project for over five years now and the many fundraising challenges during Covid prevented us from getting to the finish line. The NFL Grassroots Grant couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I'm excited about the many additional opportunities we can now provide for the Milford Community because of this project through enriching, life changing extracurricular activities for all ages."
The Milford football team opens the season Aug. 19 against visiting Edgewood.
"The Milford football program is developing into one of the best football programs in the ECC (Eastern Cincinnati Conference) and this support from the Bengals will greatly enhance our overall athletic program," Milford coach Tom Grippa said.
"We have a rich tradition of soccer and the support of the grassroots grant for the Charity Lucas Multi-Purpose Stadium will help both the soccer program and the football program. Our football and soccer programs will be able to utilize both of our great facilities. This makes for a win, win for our athletic program."
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