May 5, 2010
Nittany Lion Softball Park Home Page • Construction Photo Index
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The next era of Penn State softball begins Friday afternoon when the ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Nittany Lion Softball Park is held at 3:30 p.m. The ceremony will feature Penn State president Dr. Graham Spanier, director of athletics Tim Curley as well as head coach Robin Petrini and her team.
With construction well underway at the new $10.2 million facility, Friday's ceremony brings together all the key members of the Penn State community who helped contribute to the project from its donors to the Penn State Board of Trustees who gave its final funding approval on Mar. 19. The groundbreaking will take place adjacent to the construction site located off Park Avenue.
"The project getting started is exciting," Petrini said on Apr. 23. "We see it everyday at practice and everyone from the coaching staff to the student-athletes are excited about it. I walk out on the construction site after practice with my hard hat on and it makes me very proud of what will be built."
The 1,084-seat complex will allow the team to consolidate its resources into one area with new training rooms, media center, video room, study space, locker rooms and coaches' offices all housed at the softball park. 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 action as well as PIAA championships. The Nittany Lions have become regulars to NCAA postseason play, capturing seven at-large berths in the past 10 years. As the pre-eminent stadium in the Northeast and one of the finest in the nation, Nittany Lion Softball Park will have the opportunity to become a frequent host for softball's highest competition.
Key benefactors of the project have allowed Nittany Lion Softball Park to take shape and get off the ground. The playing field will be named Beard Field in recognition of a generous donation from Lee and William Beard in October 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 don their names.
Work on the softball facility began on Mar. 28, shortly after the Board of Trustees' approval. Meanwhile, the 2010 Penn State softball season has gone on next door nearly unaffected. The team is still in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth, sitting at 28-20 overall with a 7-9 Big Ten mark. After this weekend's final home games against Ohio State at Nittany Lion Field on Saturday and Sunday, a 36-year-old chapter of softball history will be closed, opening a new one for the 2011 season with the opening of Nittany Lion Park.
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion softball this season, visit GoPSUsports.com.
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--NITTANY LIONS--