TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay area youth are invited to a Primetime Turf Takeover at the Jackson Heights NFL Youth Education Town (YET) Center in Tampa on Saturday, June 13.
The event is part of the Safe Summer Series, hosted by the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation, Tampa Mentality and Safe and Sound Hillsborough.
The Turf Takeover features a football tournament with a $1,000 cash prize for the first-place team. To take part in the tournament, teens were asked to put together a 15-30 second positive video message.
The message will be posted on social media sites within the city and county. There will also be a gaming tournament along with painting, live podcasts, positive video content creation zones and other activities.
Russell Stanley, 17, came up with the idea for a Turf Takeover as a way to promote a positive outlet in the community that teens would enjoy.
“This summer, I feel like we need to just stop the gun violence, bring the community together and just ask a friend about their mental health,” Stanley said.
Jackson Heights YET Center supervisor Jamal Jefferson said it’s important to hear what teens are saying and invite them to share suggestions for positive summer activities.
“We can all sit around as adults and think that we know what they want, but if we really want to hit the target, then we need to be inclusive of the teenagers and have them be a part of the discussion, a part of the solution and part of the engagement,” Jefferson said. “It’s been good to have them involved.”
The Primetime Turf Takeover will take place Saturday from 7 p.m. until midnight. Everyone is invited, including parents.
“They just need to show up,” Jefferson said.
Organizers said the event is for the entire community.
View the flyer for the event below:
