What will Penn State athletics' facilities look like? Renderings are in
From the jump, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft assessed a desperate need. Taking the position on July 1, 2022, the administrator surveyed the landscape of the department he was called to lead and saw glaring trouble.
“We have facility needs. So we have to fix our facilities. Point blank,” Kraft told Blue White Illustrated. “Our facilities right now, and mainly for our Olympic sports, are woefully inadequate. We’ve got to build a men’s and women’s soccer facility. It’s unacceptable. The training room situation and the weight room situation. I’m not talking about palatial estates. I’m talking about the bare minimum to give our athletes what they need. So that is a priority.”
Two years later, Kraft’s vision for Penn State athletics took formal shape. Set as part of an afternoon release on Tuesday, renderings were revealed for the Nittany Lions’ soccer facility for both the men’s and women’s teams, the Greenberg Ice Pavilion renovation, the East Area Locker Room renovation, and the indoor practice bubble.
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Penn State athletics renderings revealed
The first renderings of the three projects were presented at GoPSUSports on Tuesday afternoon. They include images of Jeffrey Field and the indoor practice bubble, the East Area Locker Room project, and the Greenberg Indoor Sports Center training table and wellness center.
Indoor bubble
“This $9.8 million project will provide an indoor air-supported practice facility for varsity athletics programs. The indoor practice bubble will alleviate the scheduling stress and limited practice facilities, particularly in the winter and early spring months. From January until March, 10 programs currently use Holuba Hall, which creates limited practice windows in the early morning or late in the evening in order to comply with academic regulations. The addition of this indoor practice bubble will create additional and longer practice windows for teams.”
Crucially, the bubble will also free up Holuba Hall for the football program, which currently shares the space.
Greenberg Indoor Sports Center – Training Table and Wellness Center
“This $31.9 million project will include a renovation of the building to include a food services athletic training table, as well as a wellness and athletic training center for student-athletes from all 31 athletics teams. The space, which is adjacent to the Morgan Academic Center, will provide a hub for the 800-plus student-athletes to attend to their academic, nutrition and wellness needs in one central location on campus.”
Jeffrey Field Soccer Complex
“This $21.25 million project includes a new soccer operations facility, stadium renovation, parking and an entry plaza. The soccer operations center will house spaces for the men’s and women’s coaching staffs, locker rooms for both programs, as well as team meeting spaces. The soccer stadium renovations will include the creation of indoor bathrooms, concession stands, entry plazas and standing room only areas to improve fan experience and allow for the ability to host events.”
Penn State athletics undergoes huge changes
All told, the Penn State Board of Trustees-approved projects are all now well underway. Their combined cost is anticipated to be nearly $70 million. They stand in addition to a $22 million project to the second floor of the Lasch Building, which is expected to be completed this summer ahead of the Nittany Lions’ 2024 campaign.
“Facilities we can’t ignore because, right now, we’re behind,” Kraft said in July 2022. “And so you really have to have open discussions and say look, if some people want to give a scholarship, I think you can do it all. I’m confident we’ll be able to do what we need to do. But we’re not in a place to be like, ‘Our facilities are great!’ A lot of people are. We are not.”
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