Jeffrey Field is an outdoor

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

University Park, Pennsylvania University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was de ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, on the campus of

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. It has been home to

Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer The Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Pennsylvania State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Penn State's intercollegiat ...

and

Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer The Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team at Pennsylvania State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Nittany Lions play at ...

since 1972. The stadium was dedicated and named after the late-

Bill Jeffrey Sir William Alexander Jeffrey, KCB (born 28 February 1948) is a former senior British civil servant, who retired in the autumn of 2010. Jeffrey was educated at Allan Glen's School, Glasgow, and the Glasgow University. He joined the Home Offic ...

, who was Penn State men's soccer head coach from 1926 until 1952. Jeffrey Field had an initial seating capacity of 2,500, but was later increased to 3,000 in 1978. The stadium's capacity was increased again in 2003 to meet rising ticket needs.

History

Jeffrey Field hosted its first match on September 29, 1972 when Penn State men's soccer faced

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

in a pre-season match. 5,000 spectators were in attendance, exceeding the 2,000 person opening capacity of Jeffrey Field by nearly 3,000 spectators. Without seats as fans lined the sides of the field three or more spectators deep to watch the match. This opening game marked the first Penn State athletic event to ever be played at night under stadium

floodlights A floodlight is a broad-beamed, gas discharge lamp#High-intensity discharge lamps, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is Night game, being held during low-li ...

. An opening ceremony was held before the match where the field was dedicated to the former Penn State men’s soccer head Bill Jeffrey, renaming the grounds from East Halls Soccer Fields to Jeffrey Field. The inaugural match ended in an 8-1 victory for the Nittany Lions. Jeffrey Field was first remodeled in 1978, bleachers were added to expand the capacity to 3,500 along with fencing and a practice field. In 1996 the lights were updated prior to the season start. During the summer of 2003, Jeffrey Field again underwent a facelift. In addition to the installation of a new field surface, a press box and a video booth were also added, and the bleachers were expanded to a capacity of 5,000. Team locker rooms were added in 2013, and in August 2014 branding windscreens were installed. Jeffrey Field received an upgrade to its practice facility in 2007 when the University replaced the stadium’s practice fields. The project constructed two new fenced practice fields adjacent to Jeffrey Field and Beaver Stadium where the former Penn State baseball field had been located. The project cost the Penn State Athletic department $2.9 million () and were opened for use on September 1, 2008. Jeffrey Field was honored in 2006 as the ''Collegiate Soccer Field of the Year'' by the SportsTurf Managers Association. Beginning in the spring of 2010 a renovation of the playing surface took place after a contamination of

poa annua ''Poa annua'', or annual meadow grass (known in America more commonly as annual bluegrass or simply poa), is a widespread low-growing turfgrass in temperate climates. Notwithstanding the reference to annual plant in its name, perennial bio-types ...

was found in the turf. The field surface was changed from

Kentucky Bluegrass ''Poa pratensis'', commonly known as Kentucky bluegrass (or blue grass), smooth meadow-grass, or common meadow-grass, is a perennial species of grass native to practically all of Europe, North Asia and the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. Altho ...

Perennial Ryegrass ''Lolium perenne'', common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world. ...

to match the most common grass used in pitches across Europe. Jeffrey Field will host the semifinals and final of the 2020 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament.

Future

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

released their 20-year plan to improve athletic facilities in 2017. Jeffrey Field was included in the renovation plans featuring a new home and visiting locker facilities, covered seating via overhang on the west side of the stadium, renovated restrooms and concessions, a videoboard, lighting around the complex and media facilities. Jeffrey Field’s capacity, will be about 4,000 after completion which will a downsize from the current 5000 person capacity.

Supporters

The ''Park Avenue Army'' is a

supporters group A supporters' group or supporters' club is an independent fan club or campaign group in sport, mostly association football. Supporters' groups in continental Europe are generally known as ultras, which derives from the Latin word ultrā, mean ...

for Penn State men's soccer and Penn State women's soccer. The Park Avenue Army was founded as a

Supporters' groups A supporters' group or supporters' club is an independent fan club or campaign group in sport, mostly association football. Supporters' groups in continental Europe are generally known as ultras, which derives from the Latin word ultrā, mea ...

for

team in 2011. The group was named after Park Avenue the street at which Jeffrey Field is located. Members of the group occupy the northwest stand of Jeffrey Field during home matches.

References

Soccer venues in Pennsylvania Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer Pennsylvania State University Penn State Nittany Lions Pennsylvania State University campus {{Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer navbox