Hockey season is nearly upon us in Happy (Hockey) Valley. The second year of Penn State fielding a Division I hockey team is set to begin in just a few short weeks. This will be the first year that the Nittany Lions will play in the brand new Pegula Hockey Arena. The arena officially opened to the public yesterday. This morning we learned that my office, RE/MAX Centre Realty, has become a two-year sponsor of the team and will feature full logo advertisements on the dasher boards at the arena.
This is great for me because as a college student at Penn State nearly 10 years ago now I was a member of the Penn State Hockey Management Assocation. At the time, the hockey team was only a club sport so they didn't get any University staffing outside of the coaching staff. The Hockey Management Assocation managed all of the home game activities including running the penalty box, running the clock, and all the in-game entertainment.
Even as a club sport the hockey team won multiple national titles in their league and we destined to be a great Division I team as well except there was no money for it in the budget. They needed a much larger arena to host Division I games as well as more money to field a larger team.
Thanks to the gracious donation of over $100 Million from Terry Pegula we're now able to bring top level hockey to Happy Valley. The arena itself is a beautiful addition to campus and will be for years to come. The marquee right inside the door says "Welcome to Hockey Valley" which is a true testament to this area's love of hockey and not just Penn State Football. I'm sure it won't be long now until we're hoisting a Division I hockey trophy here in State College as well!
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