Kramer Field isn’t a donation; it’s an investment

Howard Kramer and his son Ross Kramer could’ve donated to any number of worthy causes.

They chose physical activity. They chose the future. They chose kids.

The Kramers chose to build an athletic field.

“It is important to give back,” said Howard, a 77-year-old resident of Schaefferstown. “God puts you on this earth to do good. When He blesses you with the ability to do this, you should do this. Everybody gets a little bit of help along the way.”

“This is what you’re supposed to do,” said Ross, a 50-year-old resident of Lititz, “and you’re not supposed to get your name in the newspaper for doing it. I think people activate philanthropy in different ways. This is our way to activate our soccer philanthropy.”

The Kramers are co-owners of Listrak, a successful digital marketing business at 100 W. Millport Road in Lititz. A couple of years ago, they transformed a grass lot adjacent to the Listrak building into a synthetic turf soccer field, now appropriately named Kramer Field.

Kramer Field now serves as the home and practice facility for the Lancaster Inferno female soccer club, an academy that offers athletic opportunities for 245 girls and women between the ages of 9 and 36 from Lebanon and Lancaster counties. While that’s the field’s primary use, the facility is open to anyone and has quickly become a community resource.

“It’s really our gift back to the game,” said Ross. “We have gotten so much out of it. To see kids we don’t even know out back practicing on their own, that’s awesome.”

“We hire a lot of people at Listrak,” said Howard. “If you played sports in high school or college, you’re probably going to be a pretty good employee. These are the opportunities that open up for them (athletes). They become so much more well-rounded, better-disciplined, solid citizens and hard workers.”

Due mainly to space considerations, Kramer Field is a regulation seven-versus-seven and nine-versus-nine soccer pitch. But it can also be used as a practice place for older squads like the Lancaster Inferno’s pre-professional and high school level 11-versus-11 teams.

The fully lined, fenced artificial turf field features lights and bench areas.

“The field used to be grass,” said Howard. “The Inferno asked us, ‘Can we use this as a soccer field?’ We tried to make it a nice grass soccer field and we couldn’t. Ross and I said, ‘Why don’t we make it a turf field?’”

“The Inferno needed a place to practice,” said Ross. “They really didn’t have the funds, and we had a grass field. We came to the realization that it would make a nice turf field. They just love it. It sparks excitement.”

Kramer Field officially opened in April 2025. The project took about four months to complete.

“For me, it’s extremely important to see it being used,” said Howard. “The Inferno is using it all the time. There are kids on the field all the time. It’s open to the public if there’s no one on it. If you don’t abuse it, you can use it.”

“We know the outcomes that are possible through sports, things like teamwork and better time management skills,” said Ross. “The other thing we wanted to do was to relieve parents of financial burdens.”

Kramer Field cost $540,000 to construct. The Kramers had donated similar sums of money to worthy causes in the past. So how much have they donated in total?

“Lots, but we’re not counting,” said Ross. “It’s a case of using provisions God has given us for good.”

“We get so many requests for stuff, and we don’t turn them away,” said Howard. “We want to be good corporate neighbors. There isn’t much that Lititz asks us that we don’t do.”

The Kramers founded Listrak, a first-person marketing platform for email, SMS, and the web, in 2000.

“This is the story of one man’s passion for ELCO soccer driving a philanthropic mission to improve the program,” said Ross of his dad. “ELCO’s always been known for soccer. He’s a guy who did well in business and is giving back in the form of a soccer field. The younger kids can get started, the better they’ll do in life.”

“Five or six years ago, Ryelle (former Raider star, Shuey) came to me,” said Howard. “She said, ‘I play for the Lancaster Inferno. I need a couple of bucks for the club. Can you help me out?’”

“With so many of these ELCO kids, I’ve known their parents for years. It’s a way for Ross and I to develop a sport we love. We see these kids go on to play college soccer and that’s just wonderful. I believe in these kids.”

Howard has served on the ELCO school board for the past 33 years. In the local sports community, he is known as the ELCO girls’ soccer program’s No. 1 supporter and advocate.

“It’s about a love of soccer,” he said. “If you want to be competitive today, you’re going to have to build a relationship with a club team. The bottom line is you better be playing soccer by the age of 9 or 10 if you want to be competitive. We’ve been blessed and we can give back.”