Posted: 7:45 p.m.
Another Cincinnati high school literally takes the field Thursday when Lockland High School receives a $200,000 grant from the Bengals and the NFL for a synthetic field that is going to be ready for the 2008 season.
Lockland joins Oak Hills and Withrow with new fields that have been recently funded in large part by the Bengals/NFL grant.
"This marks the third new field we have been involved in the last four years and reinforces our commitment to youth football in the greater Cincinnati community," said Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn, who plans to present the grant at a 1 p.m. groundbreaking ceremony.
Eric Ball, director of player relations, and Bob Bedinghaus, director of stadium development, will also represent the club.
Among those accepting the grant is one of the newest members of the Ohio State Football Coaches Hall of Fame, Lockland's Ben Hubbard, as well as Lockland mayor Jim Brown, administrator David Krings, and school district superintendent, Donna Hubbard.
The NFL Grassroots program is funded by the NFL Youth Football Fund, a $150 million non-profit foundation established by the NFL and the NFL Players Association to support youth football. The grant is part of more than $5 million in field refurbishment awards allocated to community groups in the 32 NFL cities.
