LeBron James has announced plans for a new youth golf center in his hometown of Akron, a project his foundation plans to open near House Three Thirty on West Market Street. The Akron Beacon Journal, reporting via Golfweek, said James made the announcement in a new hour-long YouTube video on his channel about his golf journey and an attempt to break 100 at a California course. He calls the planned facility the Strive Fore Greatness Golf Center.
James framed the center as a place for Akron kids to try a new sport and learn patience, according to the Beacon Journal’s reporting in Golfweek. “Being a Black kid growing up in Akron, we didn’t feel like, you know, the access to the game of golf was provided for us,” James said in the video, the Beacon Journal reported via Golfweek. Heavy, in a separate report on the same video, also reported James saying the center would give kids access to the game of golf near House Three Thirty.
The announcement was tied to a challenge round at Angels National Golf Club in Sunland, California, where money for the LeBron James Family Foundation was at stake, the Beacon Journal reported via Golfweek. A $1 million donation to the foundation was on the line, and the donation would have risen to $1.5 million if James’ chief of staff, Randy Mims, had broken 100 and beaten James, according to that reporting. Neither man broke 100 in the round.
James pledged that the effort would continue after the missed milestone. “It’s not over,” James said after it was clear they would not win the challenge, the Beacon Journal reported via Golfweek. “It’s over today, but the challenge continues. Y’all stick with us through the pain and suffering.” Heavy likewise reported that neither James nor Mims accomplished the goal in that round and that James promised to continue the challenge.
The foundation works to help Akron school kids stay on a path to high school and college diplomas, according to the Beacon Journal’s reporting in Golfweek, and House Three Thirty is the foundation’s community space on West Market Street. In the video, James talked about growing up in Akron and described golf as a game that, like life, takes hard work, commitment and practice, Golfweek reported.
The golf center announcement follows another Akron golf project from the foundation. The Beacon Journal reported via Golfweek that the foundation has announced plans for the LeBron James Family Foundation Invitational next summer at Firestone Country Club in Akron, in partnership with the PGA, spotlighting underrepresented aspiring golfers, with the inaugural event slated for July 6-7. Firestone is the Akron course pictured with this story.
No opening date for the center was given, and foundation officials said more details will be released in the coming months, the Beacon Journal reported via Golfweek. For Akron families, the next details to watch are where near House Three Thirty the center will sit, when it will open, and how local kids will be able to use it.