FirstEnergy Teams Up with Cleveland Browns to Surprise Cleveland Youth with Plan to Fund Stadium Lights at Bump Taylor Field

Student-athletes within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will soon have the chance to experience a true “Friday Night Lights” home football game at Bump Taylor Field in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. As part of its sponsorship of the Cleveland Browns, FirstEnergy announced to a stadium filled with dozens of Cleveland students and faculty that it will fully fund a major community project to install a new lighting system at the field.

FirstEnergy partnered with the Browns during its “10 Days of Giving” initiative to host the surprise event, which was emceed by Browns’ legendary wide receiver Josh Cribbs and included the Browns’ beloved mascot and hype-man Chomps.

The installation of stadium lights will give Cleveland’s Glenville and John Hay high schools the ability to host more evening games and events at the site, including Friday night football games under the lights. The project is scheduled to begin this spring and is expected to be completed prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year.

“It’s because of the generosity of organizations like the FirstEnergy Foundation that inner-city schools like Glenville and John Hay are able to provide the equipment and resources these hardworking student-athletes deserve,” said Cribbs. “These schools have a rich history of producing NFL-level players and it will be an exciting moment when they play their first home game under the lights next fall.”

As the football teams take the field under new lights next fall, they will also be sporting new Nike uniforms courtesy of FirstEnergy and the Browns. Student-athletes in attendance for the lighting announcement were surprised with mockup drawings of their new team uniforms, and some said they were speechless about the substantial gift to the team.

“FirstEnergy has long believed supporting the greater good is better business and helping youth reach their full potential is, perhaps, the greatest good,” said Lorna Wisham, vice president of corporate affairs and community involvement at FirstEnergy. “We hope this incredible lighting upgrade brings new energy to the athletes from Glenville and John Hay high schools, who give their all on the field each week, and to everyone in the community who supports them.”

Generous community contributions to Bump Taylor Field over recent years have made it a popular playing field for Cleveland youth. In 2016, the Cleveland Browns Foundation helped revamp the field with the installation of synthetic turf and a digital scoreboard.

Over the past year, FirstEnergy has leveraged its sports sponsorships with professional sports teams in Cleveland to benefit at-risk youth across northeast Ohio and help make their lives brighter. FirstEnergy and the Cleveland Indians, now Guardians, kicked off the summer break for local youth by providing 200 Scholastic Summer Book Packs to Broadway Boys & Girls Club members to promote reading while they are out of the classroom. They also teamed up to host a free electrical safety demonstration for children at the King Kennedy Boys & Girls Club in Cleveland.

Additionally, FirstEnergy recently partnered with the Cleveland Cavaliers to host a free book fair for more than 300 students at Dennison Elementary School in Cleveland, as well as a free dance clinic led by members of the Cavs Scream Team for children at the Broadway Boys and Girls Club in Cleveland.

To learn more about FirstEnergy's community involvement initiatives, visit www.firstenergycorp.com/community.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lauren Siburkis, (330) 203-8850