After Super Bowl Sunday: Host committee touts $2 million investment
TAMPA, Fla. - The Super Bowl LV Host Committee celebrated the impact its Forever 55 program is expected to have long after the big game is over.
That's why "legacy" was the theme a news conference Friday morning.
"Forever 55 is designed to give our community an everlasting shot in the arm by creating and supporting programs that are sustainable, that are helping be a part of the solution, that influence transformative change and most importantly inspire hope," said Claire Lessinger, chief operating officer of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee.
Forever 55 is focused on six pillars: Early childhood education, food insecurity, at-risk and unsheltered veterans, health and wellness, sustainability and systemic justice.
The host committee and the NFL invested $2 million into the community to help develop long-lasting initiatives.
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NFL goes green with beautification efforts at Seminole Heights park
In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, there are a lot of preparations and beautification efforts taking place around the Bay Area.
In the lead-up to Super Bowl Sunday, volunteers have built a community garden, held a marine clean up and helped out at Feeding Tampa Bay.
Bucs legend and host committee co-chairman Derrick Brooks said all eyes may be on the big game, but the bigger impact is happening off the field.
"There is going to be a winner and it's going to be our legacy program because that is going to be what carries us moving forward no matter who wins that Lombardi Trophy," Brooks said.
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Super Bowl Green Week kicks off with beach dive to clean up marine trash
Clean-up projects are happening across the Tampa Bay area leading up to the Super Bowl. It’s all part of an NFL initiative called Green Week. The environmental efforts take place annually in Super Bowl host cities.
The event also honored Leonard Levy, who helped bring the Bucs to Tampa Bay in 1974, along with the first three Super Bowls hosted in the area.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor proclaimed February 5, 2021 "Leonard Levy Day."
"It shocked me. I had actually no idea," said Levy. "We feel like we're going to continue to grow. We're going to get another Super Bowl. We're going to get other events. This city has change so much since that first Super Bowl."