USBC Partners with Habitat for Humanity - El Paso

As the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships winds down at the El Paso Convention Center, Habitat for Humanity - El Paso already has plans for how it will be able to use some of the materials from the venue after the tournament ends.

The construction of the one-of-a-kind 62-lane bowling arena took 64 days, and the facility was put together with thoughts on maximizing salvageable materials at the end of the event. It will take about 10 days and help from dozens of local volunteers for the two organizations to tear down the venue, which has enough lumber and materials to construct approximately four three-bedroom homes.

Habitat for Humanity - El Paso estimates it will be able to build six residences locally on a parcel of land designated as The Pope Francis Village.

"We received an anonymous donation requesting that we build a home in honor of Pope Francis. The Catholic Diocese of El Paso has endorsed the project, and we presently are working with the city to acquire the land, hopefully large enough to build three duplexes," said Habitat for Humanity - El Paso Development Manager Patsy Terrazas-Hermosillo. "Some of the materials will go to a local VFW post that needs to do some remodeling to its hall, and they've agreed to help with the deconstruction in return for the materials."

HFHEP will provide buckets of necessary tools to help the process, including hammers, drills and extension cords.

"It means a lot to us to know that some of our materials will benefit the local community, and the legacy of the tournament will live on long after we are gone," said Greg Moore, USBC Senior Director of Tournament Programming. "El Paso has been a gracious host to our event, staff and bowlers, and we are very grateful for more than seven months of hospitality. This is a great way to end the tournament."

Along with providing much-needed materials for local projects, the partnership also will serve as a way to bring the El Paso community together.

"In honoring the Pope, we are hoping to bring people of all religions and cultures together to partake in this very heart-warming project," Terrazas-Hermosillo said. "Any materials not used will be sold at our monthly warehouse sale to raise funds to open our ReStore in the near future." 

The Open Championships will conclude on July 11 after 127 consecutive days of competition. During that time, nearly 40,000 bowlers, plus their families, friends and guests will have made their way to The Sun City.

The 2015 tournament was the 112th edition of the world's largest annual participatory sporting event but marked its first visit to El Paso. In 2010, El Paso played host to the USBC Women's Championships, which attracted more than 5,800 five-player teams to the first convention-center build in Women's Championships history.

"We, at Habitat for Humanity, want to sincerely thank Greg Moore and all the USBC staff for their consideration, time and support in making us a partner in the conclusion and deconstruction of the 2015 USBC Open Championship venue," Terrazas-Hermosillo said. "The championship was extremely beneficial to the city of El Paso, and now the entire community stands to benefit from their continued support of Habitat for Humanity. We will be sure to share with the residents that will benefit from the construction of The Pope Francis Village that their home was partially constructed from the material given from the thoughtful and caring people of USBC."  

Starting at the 2002 USBC Open Championships in Billings, Montana, USBC and the local Habitat for Humanity chapters have worked together whenever possible to ensure that the community benefits from the materials.

For more information on the Open Championships, visit BOWL.com/OpenChamp.

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United States Bowling Congress: The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world - the USBC Open and Women's Championships - and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens. 

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 2,500 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.