Plans for the new baseball stadium and the construction of the Hershey Medical Center's new Pediatric Cancer Pavilion will be discussed by university officials at today's Board of Trustees meeting in Hershey.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said the board will discuss the creation of a new baseball stadium at University Park that will house both the university's baseball team as well as a minor league team purchased by the Altoona Curve.

Penn State will use the field from March to May and will lease it to the Altoona Curve, a minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, for park use from June to August.

Chuck Greenberg, Altoona Curve president and managing partner, said the cost of the new stadium is still unknown.

"The cost estimate is not complete because the design team is still finishing the plans," he said.

"The projected date for the finished plans is sometime over the next month," he added.

Greenberg said revenue and profit-sharing aspects of the new ballpark have not been finalized either.

"We've been working on an operating agreement that is very fair to the university and the franchise," he said.

Kendig said funding for the project will come from a variety of sources, but it is too early to define an exact financing plan.

Drawings for the new ballpark were presented to the College Township Planning Commission earlier this week.

Gary Schultz, Penn State senior vice president for finance and business, said construction will begin in May for a June 2006 opening of the ballpark.

The ballpark will be built facing eastward, across Porter Road from Beaver Stadium as well as the Bryce Jordan Center.

He added that it will have a capacity of 6,000 people.

Kendig said an "extensive report" on the Hershey Medical Center's new Pediatric Cancer Pavilion will be presented at the meeting.

Last April, the 2004 Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon overall committee pledged to donate $10 million over the next six years to the creation of a Pediatric Cancer Pavilion at the medical center.

Sean Young, Hershey Medical Center strategic services director, said Dr. Craig Hillemeier and Dr. David Ungar of the Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey will be making presentations about the relationship between the Four Diamonds Fund and Thon.

"[The Pediatric Cancer Pavilion] is a huge plus for the kids and their families because we can finally put things under one roof," he said.

"For example, [in the past] the families would have to go to one building for tests and another building to meet with doctors, while now, it will all be in the same place," Young said.

There will also be an informational report on the Hershey Medical Center discussing a new major, public health, to potentially be offered through the College of Medicine.

The report will include information about improvements for the medical center's fitness facility and the Penn State Cancer Institute, Kendig said.

Young said the medical center is facing spatial problems due to recent growth.

"We've seen significant growth in recent mission and larger class sizes, and all these things include challenges regarding physical space," he said.

"Many of our challenges have to do with the fact that we continue to have the lowest state funded public medical school in the country," Young added.