Daily Digs: Pitt State's End Zone Project, New York FC Building MLS' First Fully Electric Stadium, and More!

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Plans Underway for New Donor-Funded End Zone Facility at Carnie Smith Stadium

A new end zone facility at Carnie Smith Stadium will include a game day locker room for Gorilla football, private suites for fans and corporate partners, coaches' offices and a centralized recruiting area, team meeting rooms, student-athlete study and collaboration space, and event space capable of serving both university and community needs year-round. 

The planned facility, to be located on the north end of the field, is to be funded entirely by private dollars; donors still are being sought.

University leaders say the project represents an investment in the role Pitt State Athletics continues to play in bringing together the community and generations of Gorilla alumni. The historic rock wall surrounding the stadium will not be impacted, nor will important and traditional elements of game day like Gorilla Walk.  

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New York Constructing MLS' First Fully-Electric Stadium 

Next month, the world’s biggest sporting event arrives in the New York region. Millions of soccer fans will tune in as World Cup matches unfold nearby, bringing another burst of energy to a sport that already feels deeply woven into the city’s fabric. Walk through Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan or Staten Island on any weekend and you’ll find pickup games underway on parks and school fields, kids in club jerseys, and packed bars opening early for international matches.

But while World Cup excitement may come and go, another project taking shape in Queens is designed to give the sport a permanent home in New York City itself.

Across from Citi Field in Willets Point, construction crews are steadily assembling Etihad Park, a more than $780 million stadium that will become the permanent home of New York City FC when it opens for the 2027 Major League Soccer season. The 25,000-seat venue will be the first soccer-specific stadium ever built within New York City’s five boroughs, and Major League Soccer’s first fully electric stadium.

Designed by HOK, with Turner Construction Company serving as construction manager and general contractor, the privately financed project serves as a centerpiece of a much larger redevelopment effort planned for Willets Point.

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University of Vermont Gets $12M in State Funding to Construct Sports and Entertainment Venue

The University of Vermont is set to receive $12 million in public funding to construct the biggest indoor sports and entertainment venue in the state.

House and Senate lawmakers finalized a state budget Thursday night that includes the controversial appropriation.

Middlebury Rep. Robin Scheu, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee, previously opposed UVM’s funding request. But she said the Legislature recently learned that it would get an unexpected $10 million windfall which “changed the whole equation.”

Republican Gov. Phil Scott asked lawmakers to include state funding for the $175 million “multi-purpose center” back in January. At the time, he proposed drawing money from the state’s Higher Education Trust Fund, which is used to subsidize tuition for Vermont students attending UVM and state colleges.

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