Hounds in the Community

PITTSBURGH (November 16, 2020) – Today, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC worked with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and AHN for a Thanksgiving meal distribution event. 

Volunteers delivered food to approximately 200 families in Coraopolis and surrounding areas from an original distribution site located at Montour Junction Sports Complex.

“We want to give back,” Riverhounds SC head coach Bob Lilley said. “It is a difficult time for everyone, so anything that we can do to help the community is important to us as an organization and we hope to be able to continue to serve the community. It is awesome to see our employees come out to help. We have a great relationship with AHN, and they brought a lot of volunteers as well.”

Riverhounds SC assistant coach Dan Visser joined Lilley during the distribution efforts.  

This event followed health and safety guidelines as members of Riverhounds SC and AHN picked up food from Montour Junction Sports Complex and delivered it directly to families’ doorsteps all while staying socially distant.

“We are proud to partner with the Riverhounds and grateful for their support of our mission,” said Lisa Scales, president and CEO of the Food Bank. “Through these Thanksgiving deliveries, our drive-up distributions and other awareness campaigns throughout the year, they have committed to ending food insecurity in our region.”

The Riverhounds will participate in a second Thanksgiving meal distribution event on Thursday, Nov. 19 with the Food Bank and EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants. This will be the Riverhounds’ third partnership with the Food Bank this year.

This past June, Riverhounds SC and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank held a drive-up distribution event at Highmark Stadium as one of many efforts to support the community during difficult times.

PITTSBURGH (June 11, 2020) – Today, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Highmark Stadium partnered with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to distribute food to the community.

A drive-up food distribution service was provided from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.

“Both Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Highmark Stadium are proud to be established partners with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank,” said Kim Robson, general manager of Highmark Stadium. “Today’s drive-up food distribution marks another collaboration with the Food Bank, and we anticipate the partnership to continue to expand as we all work to support our community.”

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank used its new drive-up distribution model to provide food to vehicles at the event. Each vehicle received boxes of food, which included dry/shelf-stable, frozen meat and fresh produce.

Attendees followed specific social distancing guidelines, while volunteers packed parked cars and directed traffic around the stadium during the pickup times.

“We thank the Riverhounds for their support during this critical time of need in our community,” said Lisa Scales, president and CEO of the Food Bank. “We’ve partnered with the club on multiple initiatives in the past and we’re proud to continue our efforts with this distribution to ensure our neighbors have enough food to eat.”

Riverhounds SC and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank previously partnered this past year for a Thanksgiving turkey distribution and a Christmas dinner distribution. The club and venue also thank Pittsburgh City Council President and Representative of District 2 Theresa Kail-Smith for helping set up this distribution.

PITTSBURGH (July 17, 2019) – Today at Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN) joined community leaders and elected officials to announce the construction of a state-of-the-art health and sports complex to be located in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania.

Scheduled to be constructed in two phases and entirely completed in 2021, the AHN Montour Health and Sports Medicine Center will be one of the largest of its kind in the country and one of the very few with an onsite medical facility. In addition, this 78-acre complex will be the only one of its kind in western Pennsylvania.

This complex will serve as the practice site for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC professional team and the home base for the Riverhounds Development Academy (RDA). Training more than 5,000 youth soccer players between the ages of 4-18 years old annually, the Riverhounds Academy will benefit from this as it faces rapidly growing demand.

“I would like to thank Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network for partnering with us to construct this marvelous facility,” Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC owner and complex developer Tuffy Shallenberger said. “This facility will not only be beneficial to our professional team and Academy, but to thousands of kids across western Pennsylvania who are involved with athletics. It is with great pride we are building this complex and look forward to the positive impact it will have from youth to professional athletics in our region.”

Easily accessible from and with close proximity to Interstate 79, the AHN Montour Health and Sports Medicine Center will be comprised of 10 turfed FIFA regulation-sized soccer and multipurpose fields, including two full-sized indoor fields, in addition to a 20,000-square-foot AHN medical facility that will offer a comprehensive range of clinical programs, such as orthopaedic and sports medicine services, physical and occupational therapy, a concussion diagnosis and management program, and sports performance training. This medical facility will also include walk-in primary care with extended hours seven days a week.

The first of two construction phases is scheduled to open in summer 2020. This includes AHN’s medical facility and an attached indoor soccer field, summing approximately 152,000 square feet. The second phase will consist of adding the additional athletic fields. Two of these outdoor soccer fields are already completed and in use.

More specifically, AHN’s medical facility will include state-of-the-art sports performance and recovery equipment, including the Alter G Anti-Gravity Treadmill, a Cryo-Sauna, a Dynavision Visumotor System, Recovery Pump Compression Boots, and a Vibration Drum and Platform.

AHN has served as the official medical provider of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC since 2008. To learn more about the Orthopaedic Institute at AHN, please visit ahn.org/orthopaedic-institute.

PITTSBURGH (June 26, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC presented a donation exceeding $15,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh today.

This donation follows the tragic events at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. In light of these events, Riverhounds SC held a “Peace on the Pitch” fundraiser in November, having local communities come together for a day of soccer on Highmark Stadium’s field.

“We would like to thank our Pittsburgh communities for uniting for a greater cause to help those in a time of need,” Riverhounds SC General Manager Kevin Johnston said. “We hope this donation may provide help to those affected by our city’s tragedy.”

“We want to thank the Riverhounds organization for pulling together lovers of soccer to show solidarity with our Jewish community in our time of need,” said Jeff Finkelstein, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “This once again shows we are stronger than hate.”

For more information about the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, please visit its website at jewishpgh.org.

PITTSBURGH (April 28, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC partnered with the Watson Institute to host the seventh annual Special Kick Clinic, presented by PJ Dick, today at Highmark Stadium.

This event benefited children with special needs and their families, allowing for an afternoon of fun on the soccer field with Riverhounds SC staff and players.

“The clinic has continued to grow, and the children and the families seem to have a tremendous time,” said Jeffrey Flick, chairman of the board of trustees for the Watson Institute. “It’s very fun for them to come out and partner with professional athletes and have a fun day here. The Riverhounds do a great job of interacting with the children.”

At the clinic, participants had the opportunity to participate in drills and stations that safely and carefully accommodated each child. Some of the stations included weaving through slalom-type poles, bowling with soccer balls and shooting soccer balls into the net.

“They have so much fun being out here, being around us,” Riverhounds SC professional player Noah Franke said. “It’s not them seeing us, it’s them just getting out here and kicking a ball around for two hours with no one to tell them what else to do. So that’s the best part – just seeing them have so much fun.”

Hounds players work one-on-one with the children to make sure the personal needs of each child are met. In addition, each child and their families had a volunteer who accompanied them throughout the day.

“I love giving back to the community,” Riverhounds SC professional player Caleb Smith said. “I’ve been playing soccer so much, and it’s given me so much. So just to give back to the game in general and to help kids who are less fortunate is what I want to do in life because it’s so much bigger than soccer itself. Seeing them smile makes me smile.”

Since 1917, the Watson Institute, a nonprofit organization, has provided services to children with special needs. This includes educational, evaluation and diagnostic services to more than 1,300 children from 12 counties and nearly 70 school districts in Pennsylvania.

“It comes back to our mission,” Watson Institute CEO Barry Bohn said, “fulfilling children with special needs in all aspects of their lives. We’re a special education facility, but giving them the opportunity to experience something wonderful like soccer and how much fun it can be with a professional soccer team is just wonderful.”

For more information about the Watson Institute and its mission, visit thewatsoninstitute.org.

PITTSBURGH (March 12, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC received a proclamation from the Council of the City of Pittsburgh today at the Pittsburgh City-County Building.

The proclamation is in honor of the team’s 20th anniversary season, and today, March 12, 2019, is “Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.

“We are honored to receive this proclamation from the Council of the City of Pittsburgh,” said Kevin Johnston, general manager of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Highmark Stadium. “We are thankful to the City Council for recognizing our club and look forward to the start of another successful season.”

Founded on March 11, 1998, by former owner Paul Heasley, the Hounds began play in 1999. This will mark the team’s 20th anniversary of its inaugural season.

Since then, the club has implemented its Riverhounds Development Academy and has been intertwined in the Pittsburgh community with philanthropic programs, such as Riverhounds Sub In for Gym Class.

The team will begin its 20th anniversary season this weekend, traveling to battle the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Al Lang Stadium. The Hounds will host their home opener on Saturday, April 13 at Highmark Stadium.