Last weekend’s Fourth of July celebration in Mexico was full of fireworks, pool parties, and parades but it was also the beginning of a new chapter for the town.

Former National Basketball Association (NBA) star and current head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and Mexico native Tyronn Lue sat down with KXEO’s Matt Pilger on Sunday, July 2, to make a major announcement.

Lue announced he along with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will be donating $10 million to a project in Mexico that will be completed over a five-year period.

“It’s for our youth but it’s for our community as well,” Lue told Pilger on his program. “We’ve been talking about it for a long time.”

Lue said he and his team of local organizers have been meeting with other local leaders and educators over the last several months to discuss the plans. Not a lot of details about what exactly will be done but he did drop some hints. Lue talked about purchasing defunct properties and putting resources back to use.

The focus will be on Tyronn Lue Park and the Downtown Square area with an ultimate goal of ensuring all children in Mexico are on a path to economic mobility and a happy, healthy, and choice filled life. Lue’s group says people can expect to see enhanced programming for young children and teens and entrepreneurship opportunities for young adults.

The community will benefit from jobs created through the project. Lue said two full-time people will be hired just to administrate the project. Lue also talked about transportation being a roadblock for the youth of Mexico and said there could be some jobs created in that realm.

“One of the biggest problems we see in Mexico is the transportation piece,” Lue said.

Lue said it was important to have a local team involved in all of the planning process and to involve the area youth in the discussion. 

“It couldn’t be my vision because I’m not here enough,” Lue said. “We wanted to meet with the younger leaders and brainstorm and see what they wanted to see and we’ve done that.”

Lue said the two full-time administrators will have to have some credentials on their resume but also an important factor is their locals.

“They’re going to be entrenched in Mexico for five years so we’re making sure we get everything right,” Lue said.

Lue was pressed by Pilger about some other details including a basketball camp. Lue confirmed it will happen but didn’t give any details other than it will be free. Lue expects to start releasing more details as the plans roll out.

“I’m happy to come back and give back any way I can,” Lue said. “Enough of the talking, enough of the brain storming, now I’m here and ready to move forward.”