Council committee approves $160,000 emergency contract to support citywide Muni youth football program

An emergency ordinance authorizing the director of parks and recreation to enter into a one‑year contract with the Northeast Ohio Muni Football League — doing business as the Cleveland Muni Football League — was approved by the Cleveland City Council Finance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee on April 21. The contract, CT7004PS2024-0174, is for $160,000 and would cover April through November of this year.

The ordinance “authorizing the director of parks and recreation to enter into a contract with the northeast ohio muni football league” was presented by Director Nichols, who said the department has provided financial support “for the last several years” to keep the citywide youth football program running. Nichols described the requested term as April through November for a one‑year agreement.

League leaders told the committee the program has expanded in recent years. Jason (identified in the record as the league director) said the organization has added spring flag football (offered since 2017) and has grown from about five organizations and roughly 100 children in 2017 to “over a hundred teams and over 1,200 kids” participating in spring flag football. Jason also noted an increase in all‑girls teams — from two last year to 18 this year.

Joe Record, identified as the league president, described the volunteer and family scale behind the league and said the city’s $160,000 covers roughly one‑third of the program’s budget. “The funding that we get from the city is only 1 third of it. The rest of it have to go out and raise,” Record said. He said the league uses about five field locations each weekend (ten total over Saturday and Sunday) and estimated weekend attendance at “over 17 to 20,000 people” across sites.

Security costs were a central concern. Jason said the league plans to supplement private security with Cleveland Police Department officers this year because officers command more compliance: “we're looking at going away from just using elite security service to actually doing Cleveland Police Officers this year.” He gave an example of hourly rates discussed in committee — roughly $48 per hour for a CPD officer and $35 per hour for private guards — and said those personnel costs, multiplied by staff hours and number of fields, raise overall expenses above the city allocation.

Speakers at the committee praised the league’s community role: Commissioner Gissen Tanner said the division of recreation has supported Muni for about “90 years,” and Council members including Mike Polensek, Carey McCormick and Richard Starr described the program as a positive outlet that helps keep kids active and connected. Several members offered to assist league leaders in fundraising and outreach; the league identified the Cleveland Browns as a recurring donor (about $30,000 in recent years) and additional business and individual donors that provide gifts in the $5,000–$20,000 range.

Committee action: ordinance 378‑2025 (by Council members Bishop, Griffin and Starr) authorizing the parks director to contract with the Northeast Ohio Muni Football League (dba Cleveland Muni Football League) for April–November 2025, contract CT7004PS2024‑0174, for $160,000 was approved by the committee. The transcript records the committee’s voice vote as “approved.”

The league representatives requested assistance from council members in approaching additional funders and partners and said they will provide the committee with a list of fields used for flag and contact football, and with more detailed security cost estimates. The ordinance passed the committee and was recorded as approved.

Credits: The department presented the ordinance; league representatives Joe Record and Jason addressed the committee. Council members who spoke in support included Mike Polensek, Carey McCormick and Richard Starr.