Atlanta Falcons Build Community Playground

ATLANTA – As NFL labor woes keep his players away from football, Falcons owner Arthur Blank and his employees are building a place for kids to play.

Blank and about 150 of his employees assembled playground equipment, shoveled mulch and painted murals on Thursday at Vine City Park, in the shadow of the Georgia Dome.

A donation from Blank help start the process of clearing abandoned buildings for the park’s groundbreaking in 2009. This year, a $25,000 grant from the Falcons Youth Foundation helped fund the playground.

Coach Mike Smith smiled as he complained he had “two left hands” as he helped assemble a seesaw. Blank and general manager Thomas Dimitroff filled wheel barrows with mulch. Others painted murals that were designed by students at nearby Kennedy Middle School.