LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — 16-year NFL veteran and the current kicker for the San Francisco 49ers, Robbie Gould, is giving back to his childhood hometown in Central Pennsylvania.
Earlier this week during a Zoom call with county officials, Gould pledged 200,000 dollars of his own money to help build a multi-sport complex in Clinton County.
"For a lot of you who know me and for those that don't, the Lock Haven area means a lot to me," said NFL kicker Robbie Gould.
"When he called and told us he was going to do that, it took a bit of a load off the shoulders and definitely checked some boxes off of that budget that we will be able to handle now, so we are very grateful for his involvement," said Marci Orndorf of the Chestnut Grove Recreation Authority.
Plans for the new multi-sport complex have been in the works for almost 5 years.
The new recreation site will be located in Castanea Township directly next to the Susquehanna River.
These images are what the project will look like when it is all said and done.
"Ultimately the entire project once it is complete will have six baseball/softball fields. We want to make them available to both sports if we can do that and then also have a football field there as well," said Orndorf.
"It is starting to come to life and to see that come to fruition and one day it will be able to host regional tournaments or to redevelop an area that kids can utilize and families can gather," said Gould.
The project will include an east and west sporting complex.
Marci Orndorf and the Chestnut Grove Recreation authority are in charge of the project. Orndorf hopes the entire project will be completed by 2022.
"The whole point of this is to give local youth an outlet to play youth sports and currently the baseball and softball fields in our area are hard to come by," said Orndorf.
The Chestnut Grove Recreation Authority is still in need of funds for the project. You can donate to the project here.