April 8, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A standing room crowd in excess of 300 attended the formal dedication of Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field on Friday afternoon. Penn State president Dr. Graham Spanier, director of athletics Tim Curley, Board of Trustees chairman Steve Garban, head coach Robin Petrini and lead benefactors Lee and Bill Beard were on hand and spoke prior to anointing the state-of-the-art $10.2 million softball-specific facility.
"It's great to see this wonderful turnout," Director of Athletics Tim Curley said. "This facility is long overdue. This is a special day for Intercollegiate Athletics, especially for the softball program. This is a dream come true for so many people."
Curley served as emcee for the event, which featured donors, student-athletes, coaches, team personnel, family members and Penn State softball alumnae, who were honored during the event. The fantastic facility was unveiled prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony with tours presented by Penn State softball student-athletes. Guests had the opportunity to view the three-story, 17,500 square foot facility, which opened to rave reviews two weeks ago in a Nittany Lion sweep of Wisconsin on Mar. 26-27.
Curley introduced Dr. Spanier to speak, whose speech was greeted with plenty of laughter and light-heartedness, a decidedly appropriate reaction on such a joyous occasion. Spanier thanked each donor to the project and all those associated with Nittany Lion Softball Park, while touting many of the unique and focal points of the facility.
"[Nittany Lion Softball Park] will be a model of sustainability and environmentally friendly design," Spanier noted. "It will earn the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, which is the gold standard in green design. Medlar Field at Lubrano Park was the first LEED Certified baseball stadium in the country, and I'm proud that our softball park will follow this responsible tradition.
"I want to extend special thanks to Bill and Lee Beard, whose philanthropy and leadership inspired others to help make this project a reality. I also want to thank George and Fran Vanden for their enthusiasm and the momentum their gift provided."
Spanier also recognized the Stine Family as well as Art and Paige Nagle, who couldn't attend the ceremony and both parties contributed to the park's formation with generous donations.
Spanier gave way to Garban, who was one of many Board of Trustees members on hand for the dedication. Garban addressed the on-lookers with great admiration for all those involved especially Curley, the softball program along with some more humorous comments, which complimented the festive atmosphere.
"We've had many of the firsts in the stadium already take place: the first hit, the first win and the first home run," Garban noted, referencing the Wisconsin series. "It was only fitting that the first postponed game due to weather was against Buffalo.
"The leadership Tim Curley has exhibited in this athletic program with facilities like this," Garban said. "Along with the constant emphasis on academic achievement, the success on the field, all those things just don't happen. He has given special human effort.
Garban introduced Lee Beard, whose $500,000 gift with her husband Bill in Oct. 2009 set in motion the events that would lead to the formation of the project and the construction of the gorgeous facility.
"Bill and I are both very pleased to be a small part of this very impressive facility," Lee Beard said." For us, the decision to give to this facility, to this program, was easy because one of our big passions is certainly the students of this university, but in particular the softball program. Our passion to help the softball program is because we've watched this program grow.
"There are some common links to this group [of donors]: Fran and George [Vanden], the Stine Family, Peter and Ann Nagle, Bill and I all have in common a link in believing that this is a program that deserves the typical Penn State, first-class facility to be successful."
Lee Beard went on to welcome head coach Robin Petrini to the dais. The 15th-year coach noted the changes from the old Nittany Lion Field to the new ballpark and how the process of getting the stadium built despite many setbacks throughout the years.
"Well isn't it a beautiful facility?" Petrini greeted the audience. "When everybody was walking through, it just takes your breath away...I can't wait for Indiana to come in because they [played] in the old facility so they will appreciate the new facility. As other Big Ten colleagues come in they're going to be dropping their jaws, looking at me like `You better never leave here.' And I have no intention of going anywhere!"
Lastly, senior outfielder Mary Ostman (Northbrook, Ill.) took the stage as the team's representative thanking the Beards for their continued support as well as all the fans, boosters and other supporters of the softball program. Afterwards, the entire team greeted Spanier, Garban as well as the benefactors of the project for an official ribbon cutting to formally inaugurate the brand new stadium to tremendous applause.
The Nittany Lions look to improve upon its early 2-0 record in games played at Beard Field as they welcome Indiana for a two-game weekend set. Penn State and the Hoosiers play at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday before concluding the series at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Following the Indiana series, Penn State continues its six game homestand with doubleheaders against Kent State (Wednesday, 3 p.m.) and Buffalo (Thursday, 4 p.m.). The Tickets can be purchased one hour to first pitch at the Nittany Lion Softball Park ticket office or in advance at the Bryce Jordan Center box office (9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday) or over the phone at (814) 865-5555.
--NITTANY LIONS--