A little more than a month after vandalism tore through a rental property used for generations by youth athletes in Erie — but now the space looks almost completely restored.
Leaders with the Erie Spartans say they’re still waiting for full access, and they’re asking for community support as they move forward.
About a month ago this sports rental property that has been used for generations was severely vandalized — making it unrecognizable.
Now — the space looks dramatically different. Even without full use of the building, the Spartans manager tells me the kids aren’t missing out.
“Our athletes have been completely unaffected. They’re having fun. It’s a good time. The weather is breaking into another season. They’re outside. More kids are coming in when they see, you know, the hard work that our kids put in.” Briana Ranson, the manager for the Erie Elite Spartans explained.
The Spartans made a decision early on — they’re not pressing charges. Their manager says once they learned the vandals were juveniles, they felt harsh punishment was not a good option and hope they learn from their mistakes.
“One of them to at least have some kind of consequences for the actions, but we wanted it to be more or less like community service since we’re a nonprofit but because we could not control that we just chose to just let it go you know hopefully they learn from it.”
Even before the vandalism local sponsors continue to help — one of them is Bro Man’s Sammiches — the owner shares youth leagues make a big difference in communities.
“It’s giving kids a way to get off the street and, you know, interact and learn how to grow together as a team atmosphere is nothing like it.” Stephen Stanbro, the owner of Bro Man’s Sammiches explained.
“The Erie Spartans say they’re still waiting for a firm date to make full use of this field — but with community help, Love Your Block support, and sponsors, they say the focus will remain on the kids.” Stephanie Logue reported
“Wanted it to be a safe haven for our kids,” Ranson said.
The Spartans launched a GoFundMe — but so far, less than 200 dollars have been donated. If you’d like to donate you can help here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-our-travel-football-team