State College Spikes expected to continue with season despite lease dispute with PSU
The State College Spikes appear poised to play out the home portion of their upcoming season at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park despite an ongoing lease dispute with Penn State, though there is less certainty about the 2027 season.
Attorneys for the Spikes and Penn State each told Centre County Judge Brian Marshall during a hearing Friday that they expect the Spikes to continue with their 2026 season, which includes a home opener June 5.
They also expressed a desire to prevent the dispute from bleeding into the 2027 season. Spikes’ attorney David A. Strassburger said the organization is interested in mediation, while university attorney Philip K. Miles III was less committal and said he would have to speak with Penn State.
Chuck Greenberg, the Spikes’ chairman and managing partner, and Scott Walker, the organization’s president and general manager, attended the hearing online, but did not speak. The next court appearance is scheduled for May 1.
Penn State had asked Marshall to set temporary operating guidelines while the lawsuit proceeds.
The Spikes are facing eviction from the stadium they have called home since 2006 after the university said the organization missed an April deadline to renew a 10-year option. District Judge Casey McClain granted Penn State possession of the property in February, but the Spikes appealed.
Penn State has also said in court filings that it has been forced to essentially subsidize the Spikes at a “significant and unfair cost.” The university is seeking about $1.7 million in termination rent alone.
Penn State further alleged the Spikes have shown an “apparent and general lack of oversight and care” of the ballpark.
“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,” Penn State attorney Alexander R. Bilus 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 cast the lawsuit as a “calculated effort” to drive the organization out of business and said it has “zero merit.” In a statement issued after Penn State’s latest court filing, they also said they have operated the ballpark in “exemplary fashion, as legions of people who have attended Spikes games and other events over the years already know.”
“To portray the Spikes in the false light the University has concocted in an ever escalating attempt to force the Spikes out of business is reckless and should be beneath the University,” the team wrote. “The Spikes look forward to presenting the truth in court at the appropriate time.”
The Spikes’ statement did not address Penn State’s financial claims. A Penn State spokesperson previously told the Centre Daily Times the university is willing to work with the Spikes on a new agreement that would “keep the Spikes in State College.”
