Renovations have begun on a former College Avenue bar that will now be owned by former Nittany Lion great LaVar Arrington, though details on when the new venue will open have been few and far between.
Arrington, a former Penn State linebacker, is working to reopen the Sports Café & Grille, 244 W. College Ave., which has been closed since December.
Construction inside was underway on Sunday and signs advertising "open interviews" covered some of the windows.
State College Borough Council President Elizabeth Goreham said Arrington is one of the venue's owners.
"He is one of the partners, from what I understand," Goreham said.
Goreham said she does not know the names of any of the other prospective partners, but said she expects them to be local business people.
According to liquor license documentation, the bar is to be renamed Linebacker U Sports Café, said Francesca Chapman, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Deputy Press Secretary.
AJ Madden, who was working at the construction site Sunday, said he could not comment on the status of renovations or when the bar might reopen.
The liquor license transfer to Arrington and his group, F.A.M.M. LLC, has not been completed yet, Chapman said.
Chapman said she could not comment on how long Arrington's transfer request would take specifically, but she did say in general "it could take weeks, it could take months."
State College Mayor Bill Welch said he didn't have any information about the reopening of the bar.
Ed Friedman, a member of College Centre Associates, the company that owns the property, said he does not know if the sale of the property has been completed.
Arrington said last May to "keep your eyes peeled" for the reopening of the bar.
Arrington was selected second overall in the NFL draft in 2000 by the Washington Redskins and was named All-Pro for three consecutive seasons.
When it comes to what it takes to open and run a sports bar, Arrington is not a rookie. He opened The Sideline during Super Bowl weekend of this year in Largo, Maryland, said Mike Arrington, The Sideline general manager and LaVar Arrington's brother.
Mike Arrington said he could not provide any further details about Linebacker U.
"The State College bar information is confidential," Mike Arrington said. "Other than that I know that he is considering opening one."
LaVar Arrington's agents, Carl and Kevin Poston, could not be reached for comment.
The former Sports Café & Grille was plagued with legal woes in December. National Penn Bank sued the bar for violating the forbearance agreement.
As of Dec. 31, 2007, the amount owed totaled $464,324.96.
