It seems like every baseball team wants a stadium these days. The Pirates just got one, the Phillies are building one, and the Nittany Lions are working to build one.
The Penn State athletic department is trying to work out a deal with the owner of the Altoona Curve to build a local baseball stadium that would be home to the Lion's baseball team and a minor league team that would be moved into the area.
However, Gabe Sinicropi, director of marketing and public relations for the Single-A Williamsport Crosscutters, said bringing a minor league team to State College would be difficult because of a territorial dispute.
"You can never say never," Sinicropi said, "but [Penn State and Altoona Curve managing partner Chuck Greenberg] have some pretty high hurdles to hurdle."
The New York-Penn League, a short season Single-A developmental league, sent the Curve a cease and desist order because of territorial and affiliate tampering, Sinicropi said.
Greenberg could not be reached for comment and representatives from the Curve did not return several phone calls.
Under minor league rules, a team in State College would infringe upon Williamsport's territory.
The Crosscutters territory includes its home county, Lycoming, and a 15-mile "buffer" zone. A team in State College would have Centre County as its territory. While Centre and Lycoming counties do not border each other, the "buffer" zone between the counties overlaps in Clinton County. A State College stadium could be home to an independent league team.
It would also be difficult to move a New York-Penn League team to State College, Sinicropi said, because each team would have to approve the move and Williamsport would not approve it.
Both the Crosscutters and Double-A Curve are affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates and are separately owned.
Penn State baseball coach Joe Hindelang said a new stadium would greatly help the Lions, especially if it meets the requirements of a minor league stadium.
"A new stadium that we could really be proud of would put us on top of the Big Ten," Hindelang said.
Michigan, a Big Ten school with a great tradition that has sent the likes of Steve Howe, Chris Sabo, Barry Larkin and Jim Abbot to the big leagues as well as captured two College World Series crowns, has a 4,000 seat stadium.
Beaver Field, the current home of the Nittany Lions has a capacity of only 1,000.
Hindelang said the building would help students in the new Center for Sports Journalism.
John Curley, co-director for the center said he and the Dean of the College of Communications Dean Anderson discussed with the athletic department the possibility of involving sports journalism with the stadium.
"There would be a lot of internship opportunities, and with all the Penn State graduates in the sports journalism field it is pretty logical [to involve the Center]," said Pete Liske, athletic department director of development and alumni relations.
It remains unclear how the stadium's construction would be funded. It is also unknown if having classrooms or student facilities would affect any funding the university could receive from the state.
