‘Baseball America’ named Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, as the top-rated ballpark for short-season/rookie A-level professional teams. Penn State Recreation Hall Wrestling and Student Fitness Center has also earned a LEED- Gold certification for its expansion and renovation.

The first professional and college baseball stadium to earn LEED certification, the 5,500-seat Medlar Field topped a list of 67 facilities eligible for consideration for the Baseball America honor. The green features of the $25.7 million project include exceeding the standard ratio for undisturbed land to building site, exceeding the required energy-efficiency code by 10%, use of recycled materials as well as local materials, and other energy-saving measures.

Located adjacent to Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, Medlar Field features full-service themed concessions, a 600-person picnic area with its own commissary, 18 luxury suites, two party suites, a press box enclosed in a highly impact-resistant glass and exterior finishes, a large fun deck accommodating hundreds of people, and high barstools and LCD screens for each seat above the first-base-side bullpen.

Costing $10.2 million, the Rec Hall project involved renovation of 20% of the building, amounting to some 26,800 square feet. The wrestling practice area, varsity athletics weight training and cardio facility, aerobics center, equipment room and locker room were renovated as a part of the project. The project, which was conceived in 2006, also saw the addition of 19,800 square feet of an energy-efficient space in the form of a new entrance. The two-story, club-like fitness center is connected with a monumental staircase.

Kimball’s second project to earn an accolade, the Rec Hall project features an energy-efficient glass façade. Reducing the green house effect, the triple-glazed, low-e glass enables the facility to avoid the need for artificial light during the day. The glass sheath also reduces the heat gain from lighting thereby lowering down the need of cooling.

Other LEED certified features of the project include minimal site disturbance, access via public transportation, re-use of existing facilities, exceeding the energy-efficiency criteria required by code, use of recycled materials including recycled rubber in the fitness-area floor, and use of low-flow fixtures for all plumbing.