As representatives from the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, ForeverLawn, Ohio Cat, and Browns players CB Tony Brown II, DE Cameron Thomas, DE Marcus Haynes and LS Rex Sunahara stood on the field at Collinwood Athletic Complex, they each grabbed a shovel and a hard hat.

Then, all together, they dug into the soil, officially breaking ground on the site of a new synthetic turf field and marking the beginning of the 16^th field project that the Browns have installed in Northeast Ohio.

As part of the Browns' commitment to education as well as youth and high school football, the organization is installing a ForeverLawn high-quality synthetic turf field in association with Ohio Cat at the Collinwood Athletic Complex in the spring of 2025. Not only is it the 16^th field project for the Browns, but it's also the sixth field project installed to support the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

"For the last year and a half, this field has been closed because of the maintenance. I know we were talking about this in February at a council meeting during our hearing, and we were talking about how we get the field back open. And partners came to table because it's about the kids," Cleveland Council Member Richard A. Starr said. "This is a statement that the Browns are really here to do work in the community. We asked, and once we made that ask and you hear from the Browns saying, 'You know what? Let's make it happen for the community,' that shows that they are really trying to do something in the community."

The Browns, courtesy of the Haslam and Johnson families as well as Browns Give Back, first began their long-term field initiative in May 2016 by installing five field surfaces at Cleveland Metropolitan School District schools over a two-year span. Over the last nine years, that number has steadily grown as they work to bring new fields to schools and communities across Northeast Ohio.

A primary focus of the Browns' field projects is to offer youth educational tools through "outdoor classrooms," which offer opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities that support attendance, school engagement and overall personal growth.

The field at Collinwood Athletic Complex will also be used by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and for community activities, including the Cleveland Muny Football League's practices, games and championship celebrations. With the installation of the new field with lights, Starr said it provides more opportunities for the community to use the field for not only high school football games, but also cheerleading competitions and other sporting events, as well as a place for the community to use.

"It's going to mean a lot. You're going to see a lot of families, you're going to see a lot of children with big smiles because they are back on their home field," Starr said. "This is one of our few fields that has lights, so therefore, you can have games throughout the day and even at night, so kids can get that Friday night lights feel, which is very important."

The Cleveland Browns Foundation began working on attendance alongside the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in 2015, supporting the district's robust data-informed attendance awareness campaign. The Browns Foundation has made improving student attendance a core focus, first launching the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network in 2019. Since then, the Network has expanded, supporting more than 161 school districts and around 495,000 students in Ohio.

Student engagement is a driver of student attendance, and through the installation of the new turf field at Collinwood Athletic Complex, the district aims to create engagement opportunities to help students get excited to attend school every day.

"The impact that we've seen is first and foremost, kids can play all year round," Browns Vice President of Community Relations Jenner Tekancic said. "Kids have a safe place for them to play, but it's just not just for the football players – it's for the cheerleaders and for the other sports that get to play because they are multi-lined fields. It's for the community that wants a place to go and spend time. It's for high school graduations that have taken place over the years. It's for gym classes that now have a new place. Most importantly, it's a statement from the Cleveland Browns that we care about you, and we care about education – which is why we are doing it where kids go to school, and we know that attendance matters."

All of the new fields created through the program are lined for multiple sports, including but not limited to football and soccer, and serve as a resource to further engage athletes and students in their respective districts and programs. Given the stability of the surface and less maintenance needed compared to natural grass, the fields are also more readily available year-round to youth and community groups.

"The hope for the next generation is that they know that there are people that care about them," Tekancic said. "It's the Cleveland Browns. It's the City of Cleveland. It's here supporting the youth and it's here to make sure that they have great childhood memories – whether that's playing Cleveland Muny football who is going to be using the field, or if you're with the school and you're playing to represent your team."