CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Miami Dolphin cornerback Travis Daniels signed an autograph for Leigh Kaakau yesterday after the groundbreaking ceremony for the NFL Youth Education Town in Nanakuli.

Oahu gets NFL youth center

To celebrate the Pro Bowl's long history with Hawaii, the NFL and its partners broke ground yesterday on a Nanakuli youth center - the first of its kind outside a Super Bowl host city.

The NFL's Youth Education Town program has been established in 14 other cities, and Hawaii's center will be completed by January. Boasting

numerous extracurricular activities, the multimillion-dollar facility will be managed by the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii.

The center will be on Hawaiian homelands next to Nanaikapono Elementary School.

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COURTESY IMAGE This artist's rendering shows the front overall view of NFL Youth Education Town center, to be built on 1.6 acres of Hawaiian homelands in Nanakuli. The NFL has built 14 other centers around the country.

Although the Pro Bowl's relationship with Hawaii remains uncertain, the NFL wants to make sure its long history with the state is cemented.

That legacy will be in the form of a multimillion-dollar youth center to be completed in the Nanakuli area next year.

Through a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii, the NFL broke ground yesterday for its Youth Education Town center, a 10,000-square-foot facility that will serve a number of educational and cultural activities.

"We have a special bond with the people of Hawaii," said Frank Supovitz, NFL senior vice president. "The Pro Bowl lasts for 3 1/2 hours, but this YET center will last for generations."

The NFL has built 14 other centers around the country, and the Hawaii center, located on the Nanaikapono Elementary School campus, is the first outside a Super Bowl host city.

"We're so pleased to be able to extend the reach to Hawaii, which will further link us to generations of Hawaiians for years to come," Supovitz said. "This learning center will serve as the game's greatest achievement."

The center is scheduled to be completed by January and will be managed by the Boys and Girls Club.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Special guests and dignitaries helped break ground yesterday on a lot next to Nanaikapono Elementary School in Nanakuli for the new NFL Youth Education Town center. The ceremony included Keith Hayashi, left, area superintendent for the Nanakuli/Pearl City/Waipahu complex; Aaron Leong, representing U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Director Micah Kane; Miami Dolphins cornerback Travis Daniels; Alexis Paulo-Meyers, Nanaikapono Elementary School student body president; Mayor Mufi Hannemann; NFL Senior Vice President Frank Supovitz; and Myron Brumaghim, chairman of the YET Hawaii Advisory Board. Kahu Kalena Hew Len and Kahu Kamaki Kanahele blessed the grounds.

Yesterday's groundbreaking was attended by Travis Daniels, cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, and Will Shield, former Kansas City Chiefs guard.

Officials declined to state how much the facility will cost; however, the NFL will donate $1 million. David Nakada, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii, said the rest will be from private and public contributions.

The NFL has donated almost $20 million toward YET centers since the program began in 1993. The facilities offer tutoring, mentoring, career training and other education and recreational activities.

The Nanakuli facility will include an outdoor amphitheater, native Hawaiian garden, a multimedia studio for video and radio programs, and other centers focused on arts, crafts and technology.

"There are a lot of kids and families that could use a program like this," Nakada said.

The project has been in planning for about two years, said Myron Brumaghim, chairman of the YET Hawaii Advisory Board, who retired as principal of the Nanakuli school two weeks ago. He headed the school since 1988.

Brumaghim said he looks to the center as a way of giving toward future generations of children in the area.

Nanaikapono students outlined in past years what they wanted for the center. Because the school already has sports facilities, including a field and basketball court, the center's design could focus on training and life skills.

"They were looking for services complementing those that already exist at the school," Brumaghim said. "It's just a whole litany of things that will be available to them now."