The company redeveloping the former Sparrows Point steel mill is donating $100,000 to help build a new artificial turf field at Sparrows Point High School.
Executives with Tradepoint Atlantic, which owns the former Bethlehem Steel property, presented a check to the Edgemere-Sparrows Point Recreation Council during a lacrosse game on Thursday.
The company brought some of the 13 employees who are Sparrows Point alumni to the presentation.
"We felt it was an important project to be a part of," said Aaron Tomarchio, Tradepoint's vice president of corporate affairs.
The recreation council and the community are expected to raise $150,000 toward the $800,000 total cost of the field, so the Tradepoint donation will help that effort significantly, said County Councilman Todd Crandell.
The Edgemere-Sparrows Point Recreation Council is running a "team turf" campaign to raise the rest of the money.
Crandell, a Dundalk Republican, said the artificial turf field will be more durable than the current grass field, which is used by the high school, the middle school next door and recreation teams. The teams will be able to play more games on the turf field.
"The turf field project is important for Sparrows Point not because it's neat and other schools have them ... This logistically makes life so much easier for kids and their parents. This is out of need more than anything else," Crandell said.
Other artificial turf fields in Baltimore County have been funded by a combination of corporate, community and county money.
Last year, development company Caves Valley Partners and the Baltimore Ravens contributed $200,000 each toward turf fields at Towson High School and the Carver Center for Arts and Technology. Local recreation councils also contributed to the cost of those fields.