Gates open at 1:30 p.m. for the free event, with practice expected to begin about an hour later and to last about 60 minutes.
Bengals players will be available for autographs following the session.
A yet-to-be-identified NFL legend also will lead the Way to Play Camp at Kettering Field park, located at 444 N. Bend Blvd. The event, which will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., will feature more than 100 local middle and high school athletes and local football coaches.
RELATED: What to know about the Bengals opening training camp in Dayton
The 90-minute clinic will teach participants proper football skills and drills. Some of the camp will be covered by the NFL Network.
The NFL is providing a $10,000 grant to support youth and high school football programs in Dayton, said Alexia Gallagher, executive director of the NFL Foundation and the NFL’s senior director of philanthropy
The NFL Foundation uses grant money to support under-served communities, and Dayton has the third-lowest median income in the state, officials said. Dayton is home to a robust NFL FLAG program, the league said.
Using the grant money, one or more youth or high school football programs in Dayton will benefit from items like new equipment, helmets, uniforms or other game necessities, Gallagher said.
The NFL, in partnership with FieldTurf and Vasco, plan to donate and install a new artificial turf football field in recognition of Dayton’s contribution to America’s most popular sport.
“You’ll be getting an extremely high-quality, synthetic turf surface,” Gallagher said.
The original plan was to construct the field at Triangle Park, where the first professional football game was played on Oct. 3, 1920, between the Dayton Triangles and Columbus Panhandles.
But a survey found possible evidence of American Indian burial remains there, and officials decided to hunt for a new site.
MORE: NFL to build new turf field at Dayton’s Kettering Field park
The city and NFL say they have found a good location for the professional-sized field on land at Kettering Field.
“Dayton played such an integral part of the NFL’s history,” Gallagher said. “As we celebrate the NFL’s 100th season, Dayton is one of the 13 original towns.”
At least some of the targeted site is owned by Greater Dayton Premier Management, the local public housing authority. The property once housed Parkside Homes, but the 600-unit public housing development was demolished about a decade ago.
The city and its partners are working to make sure this is the right site with the right construction plan, said Joe Parlette, Dayton’s deputy city manager.
“We are working with GDPM and the NFL,” Parlette said. “Things like this take time.”
Parlette said they are working to acquire all of the needed land. Parlette said he hopes the field can be constructed this year.
The NFL Network will air live coverage of today's practice in Dayton to pay homage to the historic city that was one of the league's original 13 towns, as well as part of the celebration of the league's 100th season, according to Bengals.com.
The Dayton Triangles began to decline in 1922 because it stuck with local players while other NFL teams recruited top players, the NFL said.
The Triangles’ less-than-stellar play hurt attendance, and they became a traveling team. The Triangles won just five of its 51 games between 1923 and 1929.
In 1930, Bill Dwyer bought the team, which became the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Columbus Panhandles were discontinued after the 1922 NFL season due to cost and salary demands, the league said. They became the Columbus Tigers, which then folded in the late 1920s.
About the Author
