RICHMOND, Va. (August 5, 2015) — Officials from Bon Secours Virginia Health System, in partnership with officials from the Washington Redskins, the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation and the City of Richmond, today announced plans for and broke ground on the first Play 60 Playground presented by The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation and Bon Secours. The playground will be built on city-owned property in the East End of Richmond at 2535 Fairfield Avenue.
The Redskins Charitable Foundation and Bon Secours also worked with the Richmond School Board to ensure community input has been incorporated into the use of the land. The school board approved plans on July 13. The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation and Bon Secours Virginia Health System are funding the $150,000 project.
“It is a pleasure to be a part of this project and to extend our partnership with the Washington Redskins and the Charitable Foundation into initiatives for the children of Richmond’s East End,” said Toni R. Ardabell, CEO, Bon Secours Richmond Health System. “Bon Secours is committed to building healthier communities, children and families, and we know that playing is key to the health and development of children. My hope is that this playground serves as a safe place for the East End’s children and their families to stay active, grow, have fun and most importantly, to develop healthy minds and healthy bodies.”
The Redskins will be the second NFL team in the nation to have a Play 60 playground. The Carolina Panthers built a Play 60 playground at Freedom Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2013.
“We are excited to give the children of Richmond’s East End a Play 60 playground,” said Dan Snyder, owner, Washington Redskins. “We believe in the importance of getting kids active, and this playground will provide that safe, fun and innovative environment for play and competition. Richmond has welcomed and embraced our franchise, so we wanted to give back to this community that continues to support us each year.”
The state-of-the art, one-of-a-kind playground will be designed and built by Cunningham Recreation. Unlike a traditional playground, a Play 60 playground is specifically built for rigorous activity, and brings together elements of the NFL combine and the television show American Ninja Warrior. The playing surface will be Astroturf, and the activity stations will include a 40-yard dash with a timing device, ninja steps, floating boards, half rounds, U-turn ramp, sway steps, traverse walls and agility trainers. Signage on-site will provide instruction for the various activities.
The Redskins Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Washington Redskins. When the Redskins relocate to Richmond for three weeks out of the summer for training camp, the foundation conducts many programs for children in the Richmond community. Portions of the funds being used for the Redskins Play 60 playground were raised in Richmond.
