May 10 2010
Penn State softball officially marked a new era on Friday, May 7, as members of the team and coaching staff, donors, Penn State President Graham Spanier and others gathered to celebrate the construction of the new Nittany Lion Softball Park with a groundbreaking ceremony. The stadium, which will feature seating for 1,084 spectators, dugouts, bullpens and a clubhouse, is scheduled to be completed in spring of 2011.
"This is a very happy day for the Penn State softball family, and one that could not get here soon enough," said Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley. "The softball family finally will have a real home to call its own. Today's groundbreaking starts a new era in Penn State softball history. While the wait has been long, the end result is going to be outstanding."
The new $10.2 million, LEED-certified facility will be located along Park Avenue, adjacent to East Halls and the Intramural Building on Penn State's University Park campus.
Penn State President Graham Spanier and others gathered to celebrate the construction of the new Nittany Lion Softball Park with a groundbreaking ceremony.
The stadium will allow the team to consolidate its resources into one area, with new training rooms, a media center, a video room, study space, locker rooms and coaches' offices. Additionally, a new press area will be constructed, which will further enhance the amenities inside the park and allow Penn State to host NCAA tournament games as well as Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) championships. The Nittany Lions have become regulars to NCAA postseason play, capturing seven at-large berths in the past 10 years.
Key benefactors of the project have allowed Nittany Lion Softball Park to take shape. The playing field will be named Beard Field in recognition of a generous donation from Lee and William Beard in October of 2009. The Penn State locker room will be named the Fran Vanden Locker Room, recognizing a gift from George and Frances Vanden. Another major donation came from the James M. and Margaret V. Stine Foundation to name both the Softball Office Complex and Media Center in honor of the Stine Family. Art and Paige Nagle also contributed to the project and will have one of the assistant coaches' offices named in their honor.
Work on the softball facility began on March 28, after Penn State's Board of Trustees' gave the project final approval on March 19.
Source: http://live.psu.edu/