Auburn cuts ribbon on new PAL Center...

AUBURN CUTS RIBBON ON NEW PAL CENTER
A welcoming space dedicated to youth, community and connections

On Friday, September 5, 2025, the City of Auburn will unveil the newly built Auburn PAL Center. The city will host a ribbon-cutting event that will mark the launch of this welcoming space dedicated to youth, families, community and connections.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 3:30PM at the newly constructed facility, which is located at 24 Chestnut Street. All are invited to celebrate and tour this remarkable community space.

“For 12 years, the PAL Center has served at-risk children in the heart of our city,” said Auburn City Manager Phil Crowell. “And the positive impact has been profound. With the opening of this incredible new facility, the PAL Center will continue to serve, support, and inspire Auburn’s kids and families for generations to come.”

Approximately thirteen years ago, the Auburn Police Department looked at four years of crime data and found that twenty three percent of all crimes committed by youth offenders in Auburn took place within an area of less than half a square mile. Twenty five percent of all police calls for service and twenty eight percent of all youth victims were victimized in this same area.

In an effort to transform these statistics and provide positive, horizon-broadening experiences for at-risk youth in our city, the Auburn Police Department and the City of Auburn established the Auburn Police Activities League (PAL).

Auburn’s City Council turned over a vacant city property at 24 Chestnut Street, and in the spring of 2013, the Auburn PAL Center opened – a modest little building, in the heart of the half-square mile area identified by APD crime data. For twelve years, Auburn PAL has provided educational and athletic activities for kids after school and during the summer, not to mention positive interaction with police officers.

The new PAL Center, which is about five times larger than the original, will continue to serve as a drop-in center for after-school youth activities and mentoring. With nearly 14,000 square feet of beautifully designed space, the center includes a dedicated teen space, full sized basketball court, meeting and storage rooms, multipurpose areas, bathrooms and showers, and a much-needed commercial kitchen. A new outdoor playground is also planned in the months ahead.

Attendees of the ribbon cutting event will hear remarks from City Manager Phil Crowell, as well as honored guest speakers, including Auburn Mayor Jeffrey Harmon and the architects, contractors and construction team who lovingly designed and built the new PAL Center.

United States Senator Susan M. Collins, who secured $3 million in Congressionally Directed Spending through the FY 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill to help build the center, is expected to attend the ribbon cutting and deliver remarks and best wishes as Auburn PAL enters its thrilling new chapter of service to the people of Auburn.

Auburn City Councilors, members of the PAL Board of Directors, city staff, PAL families, and other community stakeholders are also expected to be in attendance.