State College Spikes to return home while lease dispute with Penn State is unresolved
The State College Spikes return Friday to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for the home opener of their 20th anniversary season while a lease dispute with Penn State remains unresolved.
Attorneys for the organization and university are scheduled to appear Aug. 5 before a retired federal judge for mediation in an attempt to resolve the lawsuit. The meeting was originally scheduled for June 16.
If a Centre County judge OKs the later date, neither the Spikes nor Penn State would be required to respond to the lawsuit until mid-August.
The 2026 season is expected to play out as planned, though uncertainty exists beyond. The Spikes, which share the university-owned ballpark with the Nittany Lions’ baseball team, are facing eviction after Penn State said the organization missed a deadline to extend their lease another 10 years.
In court filings, Penn State has said it was forced to essentially subsidize the Spikes at a “significant and unfair cost.” The university is seeking about $1.7 million in termination rent alone and has further alleged the Spikes have not properly cared for the property.
“The University was forced to make certain financial concessions to support Spikes Baseball’s ability to continue operating its organization in the Centre County region,” a university attorney wrote. “Indeed, at times the University had to assume some of the financial obligations of Spikes Baseball to help keep Spikes Baseball afloat.”
The Spikes have called the lawsuit a “calculated effort” to drive the organization out of business and said it has “zero merit.” In an earlier statement, the organization said they have operated the ballpark in “exemplary fashion.”
The statement did not address Penn State’s financial claims.
Penn State previously won the case in a lower court, where District Judge Casey McClain ruled in February that the university was entitled to possession of the stadium. The Spikes appealed that decision.
A university spokesperson told the Centre Daily Times that Penn State repeatedly attempted to work with the Spikes on a new lease both before and after the lawsuit was filed. Their next best opportunity may come in about two months.
