Belle Glade football stadium to get $3 million renovation
BELLE GLADE — Glades Pioneer Park is getting a major face-lift.
The Orange Bowl Committee and Palm Beach County broke ground Wednesday for a $3 million renovation of the existing football stadium and field at the park, which is home to the Glades Youth Football League.
The league is a member of the Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance, a nonprofit sports organization that promotes and serves the South Florida community.
Renovations to Glades Pioneer Park, which serves as a host site for youth football camps conducted by former and current National Football League players, include a synthetic turf field, an electronic scoreboard, an entry monument, fencing, walkways and signage.
The new field will be called Orange Bowl Field at Glades Pioneer Park.
It is the Orange Bowl’s fifth Legacy Gift to the South Florida community and the first in Palm Beach County.
“The Orange Bowl Committee is proud to add Glades Pioneer Park to our Legacy Gift portfolio of park renovations, and specifically as our first in Palm Beach County,” Orange Bowl Committee President and Chairman Sean Pittman said in a release.
“The county, and Belle Glade in particular, has a rich football history and tradition of raising superstar athletes who began their careers in the tri-cities. This park renovation is vitally needed to enable area youth the ability to carry on this incredible legacy.”
Glades Pioneer Park is operated by the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department.
Palm Beach County Mayor Melissa McKinlay said she looks forward to the new additions in Belle Glade.
“The new Orange Bowl Field will allow for greater recreation programming and enhance the sense of community for residents of the Glades area,” she said.