The possibility of a new baseball stadium at Penn State depends on whether the Altoona Curve, the Class AA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, can provide the funding needed to build it.
Penn State's varsity baseball team would share the facility with a Pirates' minor-league affiliate. The university has already committed $5 million, its share of the stadium funding, which would come from a recently announced $100 million fundraising campaign by the Office of Intercollegiate Athletics. The stadium would cost roughly $20 million.
Though there is no definitive deadline for the collection of the money, Curve officials said they hope to have a new stadium in operation by June 2006.
"We hope we can bring this process to fruition. It's not a done deal yet," said Chuck Greenberg, Altoona Curve president and managing partner.
Greenberg said the process of designing and building a baseball stadium takes about 18 months. To meet the June 2006 goal, the funding would need to be complete by December.
"[Working backward] helps shape other aspects of the process," Greenberg said. "We're not contemplating what happens if we fail."
A new ballpark would provide many benefits for Penn State's baseball program, foremost being a desired upgrade from its current facility, Beaver Field.
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