ATLANTA — Atlanta’s Super Bowl organizers unveiled plans Wednesday for a $2 million renovation of a neighborhood park on the city’s Westside as a lasting legacy of next year’s mega-game here.
The renovation of John F. Kennedy Park, located about a mile from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will be funded by contributions from the NFL Foundation and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and by ticket proceeds from a Falcons practice held last month that was open to the public.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Wednesday, with work scheduled to begin next month and to be completed before the 2019 Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
Blank, the owner of the Falcons, said the project shows that the Super Bowl “will touch Atlanta in many, many different ways.”
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“Our commitment to positive, impactful transformation of Atlanta’s historic Westside neighborhoods began more than 10 years ago and will continue for decades to come,” Blank said. “The opportunity to better leverage our Westside investments and elevate the impact of Super Bowl LIII to bring a lasting green space focused on sports and fitness is a great honor for all of us.”
According to Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Dan Corso, the park renovation will include a full-sized turf playing surface, a hard court basketball court, a lighted walking path, a Fit-Trail exercise system, new playground equipment, a picnic pavilion and other features.
The city of Atlanta owns and operates the park, which is used by students at the Hollis Innovation Academy, located next to the park, and by residents of the neighboring community.
This article was written by Tim Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.