New Era Pinstripe Bowl donates 6,000 game tickets to local charities

The New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday donated over 6,000 tickets to New York City-based charitable and community groups for the inaugural bowl game to be played on Dec. 30, 2010, at Yankee Stadium.

Thanks to donations from the New York Yankees, Goldman Sachs, the Big 12, the Big East, Ken Langone and Fresco by Scotto, members of the community groups will be able to be a part of history at the first-ever bowl game in the current Yankee Stadium, which also marks the first college football bowl game in New York City in nearly 50 years.

At an event Wednesday morning at the restaurant Fresco by Scotto in Manhattan, New York Yankees President Randy Levine and Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost presented representatives from the following groups with donated tickets to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

Bronx Colts
Police Athletic League
Bronx Community Boards (1-12)
Public School Athletic League
Bronx YMCA
Renaissance EMS
Highbridge Community Life Center
Scan New York
Highbridge Voices
Special Operations Warrior Foundation
Junior Achievement
Sports Buddies
Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club
Urban Assembly for Careers in Sports
Madison Square Boys & Girls Club
Wall Street Warfighters Foundation
NYC Park and Recreation
Wounded Warriors
New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund

"When we announced the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, we said that we would set aside a significant number of tickets so that young people and those who served our country could participate," said Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner. "I want to thank the above listed individuals and organizations who partnered with us to make this a reality."

Wednesday's donation was the latest in a series of community initiatives as part of New Era Pinstripe Bowl outreach into the community. Last month, it was announced that the New Era Pinstripe Bowl had partnered with New York City's Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) to install a new all-grass football field at Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx. The New Era Pinstripe Bowl also hosted the PSAL Football Championship Game at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 7 and an "MVP Dinner" on Dec. 20, honoring the best scholar-athletes in New York City.

Additionally, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will host a "Battle of the Bands" for invited high school performing arts students on the morning of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, including the marching bands of the participating schools, Syracuse University and Kansas State University.

Kickoff for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl is scheduled for 3:22 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 30. The matchup, featuring teams from the Big East and Big 12 conferences, will be nationally televised by ESPN, which has also secured national and local radio rights for ESPN Radio.

Fans can access up-to-the-moment information at the game's official website: www.PinstripeBowl.com.