Oct. 30, 2008
Top Ten Baseball Stadiums by Rivals.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of Penn State baseball, was named as one of the Top Ten college baseball stadiums in America, according to rivals.com at Yahoo! Sports.
The University Park, Pa. stadium was selected as one of the best fields in the country. Criteria for judging, listed by Rivals.com college baseball editor Kendall Rogers, was based on tradition, stadium atmosphere, fan support and past credentials of the baseball program.
The author refers to Penn State as "one of several trendsetters in college baseball" and cites that it has given the Nittany Lions a significant advantage when compared to some of the other collegiate baseball fields. Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, a $31.4 million facility, opened in 2007 for the Nittany Lions and sits 6,000 people.
Rivals.com lauded the alluring scenery of the stadium. "In addition to having a spacious concourse and press/luxury suites area, Lubrano Park also provides a spectacular view of Mount Nittany, which sits in the distance behind the center field wall," it said. "It'll be interesting to see if the ballpark eventually helps PSU become a national player."
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park is the one of two stadiums on the listing above the Mason-Dixon line and one of just three fields not in the Big 12 or Southeastern conferences.
Other teams on the list include Nebraska, Florida State, Mississippi State, Baylor, Ole Miss, Rice, Arkansas and Auburn. The Nittany Lions will play at one of the other fields in the Top Ten when they travel to Texas to play at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Penn State opens its home schedule on March 20th against New York Tech at 3:35 p.m.
Rivals.com is a conglomerate of Yahoo! Sports. According to Neilsen, Yahoo! Sports currently leads the Web in sports-related Internet traffic.