UPDATED @ 8:27: p.m. Jan. 16: Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers has provided some insight into the facilities-naming process at the university. The report below, first posted on Jan. 14, has been updated to reflect her comments.
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The new ice arena planned at Penn State University Park may be named Pegula Arena.
University trustees are scheduled to vote Jan. 21 on whether to adopt that name for the facility, a meeting agenda shows.
Penn State announced in September that alumnus Terrence M. Pegula and his wife, Kim Pegula, had committed an $88 million gift to strengthen hockey and other ice-driven programs at the university. Much of the gift will help pay for a 5,000- to 6,000-seat ice arena near University Drive, just behind the Shields Building, the university has reported.
The university hockey programs are expected to move into the new arena by 2014.
Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers noted that ‘it should come as no surprise what name is being forwarded to the board.’
‘The tremendously generous $88 million gift from the Pegulas will cover the cost of construction and more, and their names should grace the facility,’ Powers wrote in an e-mail message.
She said that board approval is required for the naming of any university building or road for an individual. It wasn’t immediately clear exactly who requested the Pegula name for the ice arena. But the Penn State Facilities Naming Committee has discussed and recommended the name, Powers noted.
While some Penn State facilities are named for university employees, most ‘namings are tied to a philanthropic component,’ she wrote. For newly constructed facilities, a donor must provide at least 50 percent of the construction cost if his or her name is to be attached to the building.
StateCollege.com will post more details as they become available.
Earlier coverage
