Philadelphia ( CNN ) -- On a warm , late summer evening , Nas Scott readies himself atop patchy grass and waits . At the sound of his coach 's whistle , the 12-year-old charges a tee , kicking a football and dirt into the setting sun . Despite the less-than-desirable field conditions , Scott and his fellow teammates from the North Philadelphia Aztecs are fired up . They 're excited because the youth football program is getting a much-needed boost from a local hero . The Aztecs practice on a field at the center of Hunting Park in the heart of North Philadelphia . Instead of playing on gridiron befitting of national champions , their home field is a dust bowl -- and sometimes a lake , depending on the weather . The field is in such poor condition they have n't hosted a home game in 19 years . `` I feel very upset because we have to go to a high school and we ca n't just play here , '' said eighth-grader John Paul , 13 . But this week , the Aztecs -- the first inner-city youth football team to win a Pop Warner championship -- got word they 're getting a new field , compliments of Philadelphia Eagles ' quarterback Michael Vick . On Tuesday , the newly formed Team Vick Foundation announced that its first major gift totaling $ 200,000 goes to the Aztecs for a new field . Vick , who spent about 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to dogfighting charges in 2007 , said the donation is a gift to the City of Brotherly Love for embracing him after the Eagles signed him following his release from prison . `` It 's important because the kids mean a lot , I think , and the Philadelphia community deserves that . When I first got here they embraced me and it 's something that I 'll never forget , '' Vick said . The former Atlanta Falcons player got his start in football growing up in Virginia . Although watching the Aztecs play brings back memories for the football giant , Vick said he wants them to learn from his mistakes . `` Do everything that you can , you know , to stay on the right path . That 's where it all starts . Other than that , football is obsolete ; it does n't matter , '' he said . `` You are what you eat ... and they have to understand that perception is just as big as reality . '' The new football field is the capstone project for the $ 4 million revitalization effort led by the Fairmount Park Conservancy , a small but mighty nonprofit working to improve the city 's vast park system . Other sport legends signed on to help the troubled Hunting Park , including the Phillies ' Ryan Howard and tennis great Billie Jean King . Since renovations began , the park has seen a new baseball field , tennis courts , playgrounds and a community garden complete with farmer 's market . `` It has literally been a coalition of champions , an army of champions if you will , who are helping to lift this project up and make it successful , '' said Kathryn Ott Lovell , executive director of Fairmount Park Conservancy . `` This park became a real liability . People avoided it at all costs . '' Once part of the estate of James Logan , who was state founder William Penn 's secretary , the 87-acre Hunting Park went from a destination point in the 1940s and '50s to a place riddled with crime and drugs . Things got so bad one city official was skeptical of a turnaround . `` My skepticism , not my participation , but my skepticism was blown out of the water early on . I think this is one of the most remarkable comebacks in my 30 years of public service that I 've seen anywhere , '' said Michael DiBerardinis , commissioner of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation . `` ( Michael Vick 's ) attraction to the neighborhood really says a lot about who he is , what he cares about and how he views himself in the world . '' At Hunting Park , the Aztecs use football as a positive outlet for youth hailing from some of the city 's toughest neighborhoods , something head coach Jeremiah Berry said he wants to last . Berry , who played football growing up and even played on the same field in Hunting Park , said the Aztecs program went from three teams in 1994 to eight teams today , serving close to 400 young people from ages 5 to 15 . `` I 've seen some good kids come , I have seen some kids that are no longer with us and some kids get caught up in the wrong things , '' Berry said . `` The park gets a second chance , the kids get a second chance and Michael Vick got a second chance . So , it 's meant to be , a match made in heaven . ''
The home field of the North Philadelphia Aztecs is in disrepair . The Aztecs are the first inner-city youth team to win Pop Warner championship . Michael Vick 's nonprofit has donated $ 200,000 to build the team a new field . Comment: