It’s a scene right out of a public-relations professional’s dream. Multicultural legions of children, clad in miniature replicas of Manchester City’s recognizable baby-blue jerseys and flanked by their adoring parents and teachers, have flocked to the ceremonial groundbreaking on a sunny spring afternoon in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. Reporters and camera crews from local media outlets are here as well, along with an array of dignitaries and local politicians, including Mayor Vincent Gray.
Marie Reed Elementary School is in the midst of its spring break, but everyone has come to show their gratitude towards the generous strangers who have arranged to transform the dusty, hardscrabble ground under their feet into a cutting-edge, all-weather, synthetic-turf playing field by mid-August, just in time for the fall sports season. They’re all here because the ownership group for Manchester City – the reigning English Premier League champions and a club with popularity on the rise in the United States – have agreed to refurbish Marie Reed’s heavily used community park at a cost of slightly under $1 million.
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