Pegula Ice Arena groundbreaking set for April 20

The official groundbreaking ceremony for Penn State’s new Pegula Ice Arena will take place on Friday, April 20 at the Penn State field hockey complex.

Penn State president Rodney Erickson, acting director of athletics Dave Joyner and a member of the university’s board of trustees will be among the scheduled speakers. Terry and Kim Pegula, whose $88 million gift paved the way for the arena that will carry their name, associate athletic director for ice arena and hockey development Joe Battista and head hockey coaches Josh Brandwene (women) and Guy Gadowsky (men) will also in attendance.

“It’s exciting to look at the construction site and see the tremendous progress being made each day,” said Brandwene in a news release. “The ceremony will be a special moment for all of Penn State hockey and the Penn State community as we will be one step closer to dropping the puck in September 2013.”

“Pegula Ice Arena will be a first-rate facility that will provide wonderful opportunities for the Centre County region,” added Gadowsky. “April’s ceremony will be a great opportunity to celebrate the construction progress and all the people who made it possible.”

Located near the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road across from the Bryce Jordan Center, the 200,000-square foot, 6,000-seat facility will open prior to the 2013-14 season, which will be the men’s first in the Big Ten Conference and the women’s second season in College Hockey America.

Arena construction began in early February.