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Habitat Affiliates Plan Super Bowl Champion's House

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 13, 2009

TAMPA - For one lucky family, the Super Bowl will be more than just a chance to cheer for their favorite team.
It could mean a new home – the Champion's House – courtesy of Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Ralph Jackson, chief executive officer for Hillsborough's Habitat affiliate, wants to start a new tradition Feb. 1 when volunteers build a new house to ship to a family in the home state of the winning team.
Jackson said he hopes the opportunity to help will give players on the field even more motivation to win.

"They're not only playing for a Super Bowl ring and the Lombardi trophy," Jackson said. "They're also playing for a house for a family who needs one."

Construction of the house will be the grand finale of SuperBuild, a week-long effort by the two Habitat affiliates to construct six new houses in the two counties.

Four new houses will be built in east Tampa on 25th Street off Orient Road. Another two houses are being built in Pinellas.

The seventh house, the Champion's House, will have its exterior and interior walls and roof trusses built in Tampa on Feb. 1. The effort starts at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza, and will last until about 5 p.m.

The frame will be disassembled on Feb. 2, and shipped to a Habitat affiliate in one of three states – Arizona, Maryland or Pennsylvania, which are home to the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.

It's a concept that Habitat for Humanity offices across the country used during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. New homes were partially constructed and shipped to the Gulf Coast where crews reassembled them and finished construction to help hurricane victims.

"This is the first time we've done it this way," Jackson said, referring to the Super Bowl giveaway.

In addition to the framework, Jackson said, the affiliate agency will receive house plans to help with construction and up to $100,000 to buy materials needed to finish building. The Hillsborough and Pinellas agencies are splitting the cost.

The Champion's House would be dedicated by Easter, which is April 12.

Jackson said that once the final two teams are decided, Habitat officials will pick up to three affiliate agencies in the two states, and contact those Habitat offices to determine their need for housing and ability to finish the house once received. The winning affiliate will be announced when the game ends.
Jackson said he hopes other Habitat affiliates, as well as players in the National Football League, continue the tradition.

"Next year, the Super Bowl is in Miami. We're hoping the players will sort of embrace this idea," Jackson said. "Every year you're playing for a family who needs a house."

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at jallman@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7915.

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