YOUTH EDUCATION TOWN: Super Bowl helps fund center for Arlington youth

Make no mistake. Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith isn’t just some celebrity figurehead when it comes to the new North Texas Youth Education Town, or YET Center, a community center being erected in downtown Arlington.  Smith recently played tour guide of the still-under-construction project, going from room to room, section to section, explaining, in detail, what each one will offer, from the dance studio to the gymnasium to the computer lab.

Smith might not have been in the planning stages of this legacy project thanks to having Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium, but it’s an endeavor that’s weighty because it is personal.

“These are the kinds of places that get you started – it got me started as a kid in Florida,” Smith said. “Centers like these can be life savers. Really.”

YET Centers like this one are now the stamp the league wants to leave behind in Super Bowl cities where economic activity generated by football’s Big Game benefits stadium concession stands and local hotels but do not necessarily trickle down to residents in any long-term way.

“This is something that will serve Arlington youth for a long time to come,” said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, who was joined by Salvation Army officials and a number of local dignitaries, including City Council members, AISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos and school board trustees. They were split into one of four groups for guided tours of the facility.

While the center will embrace any Arlington youth, the investments made to these centers across the country are, for the most part, targeting neighborhoods in need.

The YET Center will occupy an expanded Salvation Army center, adding some 8,000 square feet to this renovated space that will include community rooms, computer lab, dance studio, music room and art room.

To make the new center possible, the NFL donated $1 million. The Super Bowl XLV Host Committee provided another $1 million courtesy of the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Arlington Youth Foundation.

Another $2.5 million – part of the Super Bowl XLV host committee surplus – was also set aside for the YET Center. Salvation Army officials have estimated the construction costs at a little over $2 million, but the value of the work is $2.6 million. Some of the design and construction costs have been donated or performed at cost.

The Salvation Army will create and run a number of the classes but is eager to partner with local businesses and nonprofits to help with programming such as homework assistance and even spiritual instruction.

Thursday’s affair was quite ceremonial, with AISD students introducing each of the rooms; one, Kendall Russell, a junior at Bowie, serenaded the tour groups in song as they got to the end of the tours.

“This is going to be such a cool place,” said Seguin High School Trevor Thompson, a senior who plays basketball – and the piano. “Hoops and a music room. I can’t wait for it to open.”

Make no mistake. Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith isn’t just some celebrity figurehead when it comes to the new North Texas Youth Education Town, or YET Center, a community center being erected in downtown Arlington. On Thursday, Smith played tour guide of the still-under-construction project, going from room to room, section to section, explaining, in detail, what each one will offer, from the dance studio to the gymnasium to the computer lab.

Smith might not have been in the planning stages of this legacy project thanks to having Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium, but it’s an endeavor that’s weighty because it is personal.

“These are the kinds of places that get you started – it got me started as a kid in Florida,” Smith said. “Centers like these can be life savers. Really.”

YET Centers like this one are now the stamp the league wants to leave behind in Super Bowl cities where economic activity generated by football’s Big Game benefits stadium concession stands and local hotels but do not necessarily trickle down to residents in any long-term way.

“This is something that will serve Arlington youth for a long time to come,” said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, who was joined by Salvation Army officials and a number of local dignitaries, including City Council members, AISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos and school board trustees. They were split into one of four groups for guided tours of the facility.

While the center will embrace any Arlington youth, the investments made to these centers across the country are, for the most part, targeting neighborhoods in need.

(Article written by Kenneth Perkins, city release)

The YET Center will occupy an expanded Salvation Army center, adding some 8,000 square feet to this renovated space that will include community rooms, computer lab, dance studio, music room and art room.

To make the new center possible, the NFL donated $1 million. The Super Bowl XLV Host Committee provided another $1 million courtesy of the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Arlington Youth Foundation.

Another $2.5 million – part of the Super Bowl XLV host committee surplus – was also set aside for the YET Center. Salvation Army officials have estimated the construction costs at a little over $2 million, but the value of the work is $2.6 million. Some of the design and construction costs have been donated or performed at cost.

The Salvation Army will create and run a number of the classes but is eager to partner with local businesses and nonprofits to help with programming such as homework assistance and even spiritual instruction.

Thursday’s affair was quite ceremonial, with AISD students introducing each of the rooms; one, Kendall Russell, a junior at Bowie, serenaded the tour groups in song as they got to the end of the tours.

“This is going to be such a cool place,” said Seguin High School Trevor Thompson, a senior who plays basketball – and the piano. “Hoops and a music room. I can’t wait for it to open.”