Friends of Tewksbury Athletic Complex Announce Corporate Partnership

Organizers of the Friends of Tewksbury Community Athletic Complex (FOTCAC) have taken what spokesman Paul Hibner calls "a huge first step" toward their goal of gaining enough corporate support to privately fund the building of a 1,500-seat, lighted, artificial turf multi-sport athletic complex adjacent to the new over the next two to three years.

TD Bank, through its at 995 Main Street, has agreed to partner with FOTCAC with its Affinity Program, which contributes annual monies to affiliated organizations based on the total dollar volume of TD Bank deposits connected to the organization.

"Anyone with an existing account can simply call the bank and ask for the code for the Friends of Tewksbury Community Athletic Complex Affinity Program, and we'll connect their account to the (FOTCAC) fundraiser," explained John Pacheco, Vice President and Store Manager at TD Bank's Tewksbury center location. "Basically, we then give back a percentage of all the money on deposit with the bank, that's attached to (FOTCAC)."

New depositors can simply ask to have their new accounts linked to FOTCAC when they come to the bank to open them, Pacheco said.

One of the most attractive parts of the program, according to Pacheco, is that it can run for as long as 10 years, giving annual contributions to the target program.

"This program is new to the area, but it's not new to TD Bank," Pacheco said. "We have groups getting $20-30,000 a year from the program."

For FOTCAC, which hopes to , 10 annual contributions of $20-30,000 would represent a significant percentage of the group's funding goal.

FOTCAC and TD Bank will be promoting the program at youth soccer and Pop Warner football events on September 17, and at the TMHS football team's home game against Dracut on October 15.

"It's a huge first step, and it's really only the beginning," said Hibner. "We're talking with TD Bank about other sponsorship programs and we're talking with other corporations in town about other types of programs.

"TD Bank is just the first corporation to step forward," Hibner added. "We expect others to follow suit."

which includes a running track, a press box, a scoreboard and a sound system, would not open until the fall of 2013. is expected to open in September of 2012, at which point the existing high school building will be razed to make room for the athletic fields.

Current plans for the new high school campus call for a natural grass field and a running track to be constructed, with limited seating and no lights.

In recent weeks, there have been reports FOTCAC was preparing to approach town government leaders and seek public funds from the town to help build the athletic complex.

According to Hibner, those reports were premature. While he would not rule out the possibility of FOTCAC approaching the town in the future, he said there are no current plans to do so.

"We understand the town's financial picture and the finances of the townspeople," Hibner said. "We're committed to continuing our efforts to accomplish this with private money until at least next spring."

The TD Bank program, Hibner says, has given the group a major push toward reaching its goal of raising $2.2 million.

The group has also announced a brick buying program in which individuals or companies can purchase paver bricks, inscribed with their name, which will form a walkway at the entrance to the new athletic complex. Information on the brick program can be found on the group's Website.

According to Hibner, the group's fundraising efforts seem to be gaining momentum. "We're starting to get checks for individual donations," Hibner said. "It's no longer looking like a matter of 'if' we can get this done. It's starting to look like a matter of 'when'."