VESTAL, N.Y. — Binghamton University on Tuesday announced it has received a $60 million donation to “fully” pay for a new baseball stadium complex.
The funding, from an anonymous donor, represents Binghamton’s “largest gift ever,” the university said.
This project involves construction of an 84,000-square-foot facility to support the Binghamton Bearcats baseball team that will include a new stadium, clubhouse, and indoor training facility. It will consist of increased fan seating, locker rooms, batting cages, coaches’ offices, study spaces, and an athletic training room.
The new stadium complex will help Binghamton University to “continue to recruit top high-school athletes” and will also meet NCAA requirements for hosting post-season tournament play, the university contends. The indoor training facility will include a turf baseball infield with a four-story ceiling, providing athletes the ability to practice year-round.
“This gift will help put Binghamton University into the upper echelons of Division I schools,” Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger said in a statement. “This unprecedented gift perfectly matches donor passion and the strategic needs for the campus, and it is my hope that it will inspire others to give back to the area of campus that they are most passionate about. This is an exciting time for Binghamton University, and we are extraordinarily grateful for the generosity of our anonymous donor family.”
The Binghamton Bearcats compete in the America East Conference in Division I baseball. Binghamton won the America East Tournament in 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2016 to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The team also won America East regular-season titles in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2017. The Bearcats currently play their home games at NYSEG Stadium, which is the home of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies AA professional baseball team.
The new Binghamton University baseball stadium project has an “aggressive” construction timeline as work will begin within the next few weeks, “letting the team play in their new home stadium next year.”
Contractors can bid for the project starting Feb. 19, Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations at Binghamton University, tells CNYBJ in an email.
Sarasota, Florida–based Fawley Bryant Architecture is the designing architect for the stadium upgrades, the university said.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com