Penn State unveils design for Pegula Ice Arena

The Penn State Board of Trustees Friday approved the architectural design for Pegula Ice Arena at its meeting at the Nittany Lion Inn.

Construction on the rink will begin in the coming weeks.

“On behalf of my wife, Kim, and the rest of the Pegula family, may I say we are thrilled by the Board of Trustees’ approval of the facility that will bear our name and provide countless opportunities for Penn State hockey players and the Central Pennsylvania region for decades to come,” said Terry Pegula, whose $88 million gift brought the arena and hockey programs to fruition, in a statement. “Our thanks to all of the people who have taken this vision from a dream to a concrete reality in less than 18 months. We look forward to seeing construction vehicles on site very soon.”

PSU men’s coach Guy Gadowsky is equally enthralled.

“This is a very exciting time for Penn State hockey,” added Gadowsky. “Being one step closer to seeing tangible activity at the construction site puts a jump in my step.”

“I’m extremely grateful to the Penn State Board of Trustees for their approval of the Pegula Ice Arena project,” said women’s coach Josh Brandwene. “This is such an exciting time for the Penn State hockey community and concrete signs of construction will add a very significant element to the programs’ progress.”

The arena will be located near the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road across from the Bryce Jordan Center and is set to open prior to the 2013-14 season.

Plans for the official groundbreaking ceremony will be announced at a later date.