Israel's first (American) football stadium
The stadium will be the first regulation-sized American football field in Israel, and is the latest indication of the sport’s growing popularity in the country, and not only amongst American immigrants; there are currently 1,350 active players, including 150 women, 750 men and 450 teenagers.
Fresh off a Super Bowl victory for his New England Patriots, team owner Robert Kraft announced funding for a professional-standard football stadium outside Jerusalem. Kraft will donate $6 million to the few-hundred-seat stadium which will be situated outside Jerusalem and is slated to open later this year.
Kraft is a long-time supporter of Israel and made headlines in 2015 by holding a pre-game moment of silence for 18-year-old Ezra Schwartz, a Boston native who was murdered in Gush Etzion while studying in a post-high school yeshiva program.
The stadium will be the first regulation-sized American football field in Israel, and is the latest indication of the sport’s growing popularity in the country, and not only amongst American immigrants. There are currently 1,350 active players, including 150 women, 750 men and 450 teenagers, in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be'er sheva, Petah Tikva, Ramat HaSharon, Mazkeret Batya, Netanya, Kfar Saba, Emek Yizrael, Kiryat Ono and Haifa.
To meet the growing demand, there are plans for three more regulation fields over the next decade, in the south, center and north of the country.
“This initiative originated from Israelis and Americans who simply wanted to play football,” said Israel Football League CEO Betzalel Friedman. “But interest grew quickly. Football is a great opportunity to create bonds between teammates from all backgrounds.
“But our teams have to search high-and-low for practice fields during the football season. The shortage of proper fields has limited the quality and popularity of the game in the country,” Friedman told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
The announcement of the new stadium coincided with news that a delegation of 11 NFL players will arrive in Israel on Feb. 13th for a seven-day visit. The visit follows a similar visit by Major League Baseball players last month. Both groups are part of a push by the Tourism Ministry to have high-profile athletes serve as “goodwill ambassadors” for Israel following their visits.
“I think this delegation of NFL stars to Israel is very important,” said Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan. “I have no doubt the visit will be a powerful experience for them and one that I hope will give them a balanced picture of Israel, in contrast to the false incitement campaigns that are being waged against Israel around the world. ”
“I hope that the players will present the beautiful face of Israel to their tens of millions of fans in the United States. My ministry is spearheading an intense fight against de-legitimization and BDS campaigns against Israel, and part of this struggle includes hosting influential people and opinion makers of international standing in a variety of fields, including sport,” added Erdan.
“I hope this delegation will also promote sports tourism, which has become an engine for economic growth around the world,” added Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (Likud). Especially so soon after the Super Bowl, the social media accounts of the players coming to Israel could enhance exposure for Israeli products.
Republished with permission from the Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
