LISC/ESPN Pilot Home Court Program Grants $25,000 To Construct Basketball Courts At The Terasaki Budokan Center

May 7, 2018 – The Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) has been awarded a $25,000 LISC/ESPN Pilot Home Court grant to construct a new basketball court at the Terasaki Budokan Center in downtown Los Angeles.  

The grant from ESPN and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the nation’s leading community development support organization, is part of $150,000 allocated this year.

The LISC/ESPN Pilot Home Court Program is a collaboration between ESPN and LISC that provides non-profit, neighborhood-based organizations, middle schools and high schools with financing and technical assistance to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of local basketball courts in selected markets.  The Home Court program is part of a larger ESPN social responsibility initiative, RePlay that works to revitalize vacant spaces into places for sports, recreation and play.

LISC provides a comprehensive array of services to assist low-income individuals and other persons in need, contribute to community revitalization and cultural preservation in Little Tokyo and provide resources to low income communities.  The Terasaki Budoken Center will be a new 51,000 square foot multi-purpose community facility in Little Tokyo, L.A. and will consists of basketball courts, outdoor green space and a community room. The facility will hosts community basketball leagues, after school programming and arts and culture programs.   

“LISC LA is proud to be a part of the Budokan legacy which will promote healthy living, youth sports, social responsibility and cultural awareness of Japanese American contributions to our City and community preservation”, said Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, executive director of LA LISC.

LISC identifies local, nonprofit, community-based agencies that have an interest in building or refurbishing basketball courts in schools and neighborhood parks. Through the program, local agencies are provided with the necessary financing and technical assistance to improve the quality and safety of courts in their communities. The agencies oversee the construction, maintenance and programming of the courts.

“Basketball courts can serve as tremendous neighborhood assets,” said Kevin Martinez, vice president of ESPN Corporate Citizenship. “They provide more young people the ability to access sports, which ultimately contributes to better health and quality of life for those in the community.”

About ESPN Corporate Citizenship

ESPN believes that, at its very best, sports uplift the human spirit. Its corporate citizenship programs use power of sport to positively address society’s needs through strategic community investments, cause marketing programs, collaboration with sports organizations, and employee volunteerism, while also utilizing its diverse media assets. For more information go to www.espn.com/citizenship.

About LISC

With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America - great places to live, work, visit do business and raise families. Since 1980, LISC has raised more than $20 billion to build or rehab more than 376,000 affordable homes and develop 63 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide. For more information, visit www.lisc.org.