Binghamton University to Build State-of-the-Art Baseball Stadium Complex
VESTAL, NY – State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson joined Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger last month to celebrate a $60-million donation to the university to build a state-of-the-art Baseball Stadium Complex. The anonymous gift represents the largest in Binghamton University history. It also reinforces Chancellor Johnson’s vision to expand philanthropic investment across SUNY, as a means to support each campus’s academic mission.
“This generous and historic donation will provide the Binghamton University’s baseball team with a world-class facility for our student athletes,” said SUNY Chancellor Johnson. “As a former Division 1 athlete, I know that the lessons sports teach — teamwork, discipline, and collaboration towards a common goal — are invaluable life lessons, which 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.”
Fully funded by the $60-million donation, Binghamton’s future 84,000-square-foot facility will include a new stadium, clubhouse and indoor training facility, as well as increased fan seating, locker rooms, batting cages, coaches' offices, study spaces and an athletic training room. The indoor training facility will include a turf baseball infield, giving athletes the ability to practice year-round. The project will be complete in time for the start of the 2021 baseball season.
“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.”
Since joining SUNY, Chancellor Johnson has been encouraging campus leadership to escalate philanthropy engagement with key partners, with the offer of her support. As recently as her 2020 SOTUS address, Chancellor Johnson led by example, announcing that she and wife Veronica Meinhard donated $1 million to the SUNY Impact Foundation. The personal funding will help grow fellowships for graduate students. In addition, Chancellor Johnson committed to energetically seeking philanthropy.
Philanthropic giving complements New York State’s longstanding investment in SUNY, improves campuses’ physical infrastructure, frees up money to invest in other valuable programs, and ensures SUNY students have access to a high-quality, affordable education.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. As of Fall 2019, more than 415,500 students were enrolled in a degree program at a SUNY campus. In total, SUNY serves throughout the year about 1.4 million students in credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide exceeded $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2019, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.