Vestal, N.Y. − Binghamton University, State University of New York, today announces its largest gift ever — $60 million committed to a new Baseball Stadium Complex.
The University’s sports facilities in Vestal, N.Y., will be transformed with a $60 million anonymous gift that will create a new Baseball Stadium Complex. From admissions to athletics, this gift will have a positive impact across the entire campus.
“This gift will help put Binghamton University into the upper echelons of Division I schools,” said Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger. “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.”
“This generous and historic donation will provide the Binghamton University baseball team with a world-class facility for our student-athletes,” said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. “As a former Division I athlete, I know that the lessons sports teach — team work, discipline and collaboration toward a common goal — are invaluable life lessons that will be supported by this gift. This facility will also expand SUNY’s regional and national reach and exposure, inspire others to give back to further our academic and athletic excellence, and build on the tremendous level of community spirit within the Binghamton University community.”
“The Binghamton University Foundation is a proud partner in helping to facilitate this transformational gift,” said Sheldon Goldfarb ’73, chair of the Binghamton University Foundation Board of Directors.
Fawley Bryant Architecture is the designing architect for the stadium upgrades. A commercial architecture firm with two locations in Florida, Fawley Bryant facilitates the creation of smart, beautiful spaces. The firm’s portfolio spans from multimillion-dollar sports stadiums to commercial and hospitality complexes and includes work on the Atlanta Braves spring training complex, IMG Academy Fieldhouse and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
This fully funded donor project will build an 84,000 square-foot facility to support the 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 not only help the University to continue to recruit top high-school athletes but will also meet NCAA requirements for hosting post-season tournament play. The indoor training facility will include a turf baseball infield with a four-story ceiling, providing athletes the ability to practice year-round.
“The new baseball complex will be a one-of-a-kind facility in this region and will be better than most Division I programs across the country. It will rival the outstanding facilities of many programs that compete in Power 5 conferences,” said head coach Tim Sinicki, a six-time America East Coach of the Year who is heading into his 28th season coaching at Binghamton — the 10th-longest current tenure of any NCAA Division I coach in the nation. “Our goal will be to utilize this new complex to continue to recruit the highest-caliber student-athletes, develop their baseball skills in these new cutting-edge facilities and provide them an experience they will carry with them long after they graduate from Binghamton.”
The project reflects an aggressive construction timeline; construction will begin within the next few weeks, letting the team play in their new home stadium next year.
“Thanks to a very generous donor family, these new facilities will help attract the best student-athletes from around the country and provide them with the facilities to compete at their highest level,” said Patrick Elliott, Binghamton’s director of athletics. “We are extremely excited that we have such a generous family who believes in our Division I student-athletes. These stadium enhancements will have a tremendous impact on our intercollegiate athletics program.
“The architectural firms that designed this project have previous experience building major-league complexes,” Elliott added. “We expect this complex to be in the same league with them.”
Baseball at Binghamton University — and in the Binghamton area — has always been a notable point of pride. The success of the Division I baseball team is the greatest of any Binghamton University sport, with six America East first-place finishes, four America East playoff championships, four NCAA tournament appearances and 15 players recruited and selected by Major League Baseball teams. In the last 13 years, Binghamton has amassed the most baseball championships in the America East Conference.
For more information, contact Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations at Binghamton University, at ryarosh@binghamton.edu or 607-777-2174.
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