HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The state of Qatar donated $3.3 million to Harris County in order to build eight new soccer fields in Precincts 1 and 4.
Five soccer fields will be built in Precinct 1 and three will be built in Precinct 4.
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The fields will also be designed as water collection basins.
The announcement was made Monday by H.E. Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the U.S.; Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo; Precinct 4 Commissioner R. Jack Cagle; and Licia Green Ellis, representing Precinct 1 and her husband, Commissioner Rodney Ellis.
The donation came out of Qatar's $30 million Qatar Harvey Fund.
Precinct 1 fields
Five soccer fields will be built in Precinct 1 at Blueridge Park, near Blueridge Road and West Orem Drive. The fields are expected to help reduce the risk of future flooding events for residents living in the Sims Bayou watershed.
Precinct 4 fields
The three soccer fields in Precinct 4 will be built in Alabonson Park, on Bingle Road near Alabonson Road.
What is the Qatar Harvey Fund?
The Qatar Harvey Fund has already announced about $16 million in Harvey recovery projects in southeast Texas, including a $2.5 million donation announced last October to help restore Harris County’s Riverside Hospital in Houston’s Third Ward.
“Qatar has relationships in Houston and southeast Texas that go back decades and the Qatar Harvey Fund is a gesture of solidarity, designed to support long-term recovery and resilience. These fields serve that purpose by using land vulnerable to flooding to bring recreation access closer to these communities,” Al-Thani said.