A ‘Field of Dreams’ in jeopardy for youth sports league in North Memphis, as fundraising deadline approaches

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – It’s affectionally being called the field of dreams, but right now, the Charles Greenhill stadium in Frayser is an overgrown and seemingly abandoned facility.

The stadium is named after a former Memphis high school football legend who tragically passed away in an airplane crash.

The stadium is supposed to be renovated to become the home of the Memphis Shelby County Police Athletic League, which is for children ages 5 to 18.

It’s a non-profit where Jeffery Taylor began volunteering as a football coach nearly 25 years ago, “I got shot 5 times when I was 20 years old, and I turned 21 while in the hospital. My best friend Ricky who is over the Northaven bulldogs called me and asked me for some help,” said Taylor who now serves as the commissioner of all 32 football teams within PAL.

The PAL football season was cancelled in 2023 while renovations were supposed to be underway at their future home. The City of Memphis donated the land to PAL.

In June 2023, the Tennessee Titans awarded a $250,000.00 grant, and Shelby County matched it—a half million dollars in donations to get the stadium up and running.

PAL celebrated with a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony with city and county leaders.

”We thought having that ceremony would generate [a lot of] energy behind the project, but we fell short. It’s been almost a year, year and a half and we haven’t gained anymore traction,” said Craig Littles, Executive Director and founder of PAL.

More than a thousand kids each season have a chance to participate in sports, including cheerleading, track, soccer, and football. “What PAL brings to the program, you have mentorship, athletics, they learn socialization skills, coping skills,” said PAL board member Charlotte Easter.

PAL relies on other venues for a place to let their kids play.

This year, Littles says there were no takers, but Littles says he knows the value of kids having a place of their own, in their own neighborhood.

Littles, a former police officer and sheriff’s deputy, grew up in North Memphis, “It’s where I wanted to be, it’s where I grew up, and I wanted to come back and bring some positivity to the community.”

PAL serves in the essence of creating a positive relationship between kids, cops and community and decreasing juvenile crime,” said Littles.

However, for each day that this facility remains closed, is a concern for Taylor. “I’ve seen kids leave football and once they get in the streets, it’s over with. It’s hard to save them,” said Taylor.

There is some good news. If you look beyond the weeds, a lot of progress is being made at the stadium.

The tubing for the artificial field is purchased and ready to be put down—MLGW is working on lighting.

Littles says the contractors say the stands are practically new and simply need a fresh coat of paint with upgrades to be wheelchair accessible.

There is also a brand new scoreboard that’s been donated by the United Way.

Littles says they need to raise an additional $800,000.00 to complete phase 1 to finally re-open the field of dreams “Absolutely sense of urgency. I have sleepless nights thinking about what’s happening tomorrow towards the need of getting this facility secured and ready to play for kids,” said Littles.

Littles says he gets calls everyday from the community asking to use the facility for graduations, concerts and other events.

He says it will take 8 million dollars to complete all four phases of the project, which includes a new track, parking , upgrades to the concession stand, and dressing rooms.

However, PAL is facing a hard deadline from the NFL to raise enough money to finish the first phase of renovation for the Charles Greenway Stadium by Labor Day.

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