Significant renovations, upgrades are happening at Medlar Field. Here’s what to know
The most significant upgrades in the nearly 20-year history of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park are underway, an investment the State College Spikes’ top executive views as a message that baseball is here to stay in Happy Valley.
The ongoing renovations at the home of the Spikes and Penn State baseball include improvements for both fans and players, everything from the field itself to areas of the stadium rarely seen by those not playing the game.
Some upgrades are aimed at assuring compliance with more strict facility standards imposed by MLB, while others are geared toward making sure fans simply enjoy their time at the ballpark.
“It’s positioning us to be strong long-term partners with Major League Baseball. It’s tough to really run a club successfully without ties to Major League baseball,” Spikes’ President and general manager Scott Walker said. “All of these projects are actually under the premise that it will set us up to be strong long-term partners with MLB.”
A new high-definition videoboard has generated the most excitement among Walker and Spikes’ communications director Joe Putnam. The new screen will be 2,739 square feet, more than five times larger then the previous videoboard.
The footprint is slated to remain the same, but all of the signage that surrounded the old videoboard will be replaced with one large HD screen.
It could open new possibilities beyond baseball. Walker tossed around the idea of the stadium hosting movie nights and watch parties when Penn State’s football team hits the road.
“It’s going to be the biggest difference-maker,” Walker said.
Work began in September to replace the field with new Kentucky bluegrass, all the way down to the irrigation system that sits below the diamond.
The entire outfield fence is in line to be replaced by padded walls, a move aimed at increasing player safety. The old fence was plywood, Walker said. The fence will also change from green to Penn State and Spikes blue.
The renovations will also give batters something to rejoice. The left-center-field fence — which sits 410 feet from home plate and is home to the Nookie Monster — will be brought in.
The batter’s eye — the dark-colored wall situated behind center field to give batters a better chance to track the pitch — will be expanded. Fear not: It will not detract from the view of Mount Nittany, Walker said.
All of the on-field changes will be illuminated by new LED lights. Putnam said the lights will have the ability to change color and perform light shows. Go ahead, think of your favorite closer’s entrance (just on a smaller scale).
The bowels of the stadium are also in line for major changes.
All clubhouses and shared facilities will be upgraded. The new training room, Walker said, will be “like the Taj Mahal of training rooms.” Offices for women will be constructed, along with better lounges and amenities.
All of the renovations are expected to be completed before the Nittany Lions take the field in the spring. The work has progressed as expected, Walker said.
Penn State declined to share how much the renovations cost. The approved work does not exceed the threshold required for board of trustees approval, a Penn State Athletics spokesperson wrote in an email. No tuition money was spent on the project.
Even before the current round of renovation are complete, Walker said he is already thinking about what improvements and expansions come next. What gets checked off the organization’s to-do list, Walker said, will be determined by “the resources we have.”
But, he said, that’s for another day. The franchise — less than five years removed from launching a campaign to keep the team in State College — is just happy to be talking about a vibrant baseball future.
“Giving us a tool to utilize like this is going to help our business,” Walker said of the renovations. “We hope everybody knows about it, sees it and comes to more games.”
The 40-game regular season home slate is scheduled to start June 7.
