The Binghamton University athletics department announced on Tuesday that it has received a $2.2 million gift from an anonymous donor. The donation is the largest in program history.
The gift will go toward the installation of an artificial turf field and broadcast-quality lights. Construction started on Monday, before the donation was announced.
According to BU head coach Tim Sinicki, the construction is scheduled to be completed by the Binghamton baseball team’s first home game, which is set for the first weekend in April.
“This gift will provide our baseball student-athletes with a state-of-the-art, weather-resistant and durable surface to play on,” said BU Director of Athletics Patrick Elliot.
The newly added turf field will allow Binghamton the freedom to schedule games earlier in the season. In 2015, poor field conditions forced the Bearcats to move their home opener to Ithaca. The addition of lights will allow BU to host America East conference tournaments in the future.
“It’s going to enhance not only what the current student-athletes are doing, but the future of this program, and the talent of student-athletes we can go and recruit,” Sinicki said.
BU athletics’ previous donation record was set last year by Dr. Bai Lee when he donated $1 million, which led to the renaming of the Events Center court after him. That donation initially went toward the renovation of the men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms. Further improvements were made to the Student-Athlete Success Center, the strength and conditioning program and the sports medicine team.