LeBron James has announced plans for a new youth golf center in Akron, saying the project will give local kids a chance to try a sport he felt was out of reach when he was growing up in the city. James unveiled the idea, which he called the Strive for Greatness Golf Center, in a new hour-long video posted to his new YouTube channel highlighting his own golf journey.
James said the LeBron James Family Foundation is planning to open the center near House Three Thirty on West Market Street. He described it as a place where kids can have the opportunity to try a new sport and learn patience, drawing a connection between the work golf requires and the commitment needed to navigate challenges in life more broadly.
The announcement came wrapped in a challenge on the course. In the video, James played at Angels National Golf Club in Sunland, California, trying to break 100, with a $1 million donation to his namesake Akron charity at stake. If his chief of staff, Randy Mims, had broken 100 and beaten him, the donation to the LeBron James Family Foundation would have risen to $1.5 million, according to the account of the round.
Neither James nor Mims broke 100 on the day. James made clear, however, that the effort is not finished, saying the challenge continues and urging viewers to stick with them. The pledged donation is tied to the foundation’s work helping Akron school kids stay on the path toward high school and college diplomas.
In the video, James spoke at length about growing up in Akron and about access to golf. He said that as a Black kid growing up in Akron, he and others did not feel that access to the game of golf was provided for them. The new center is presented as a direct answer to that gap, bringing the game closer to the neighborhood where the foundation already works.
The golf center follows another golf announcement from the foundation. The LeBron James Family Foundation Invitational is planned for next summer at Firestone Country Club in Akron, in partnership with the PGA, and will spotlight underrepresented aspiring golfers. The inaugural event is slated for July 6-7 at Firestone, the longtime Akron venue that this year hosted its final Kaulig Companies Championship.
James, who now wears a Philadelphia 76ers uniform, used the video to stress that he has not forgotten the city he still considers home. For Akron families, the next steps will be details on the golf center itself — its exact opening timeline and programming — as the foundation turns the announcement into a working facility near House Three Thirty.