A sea of white and blue swelled up to the edge of the construction site of the Pellegrini Athletic Complex (The PAC), as Malvern Prep students, faculty and campaign donors pulled on commemorative T-shirts and gathered for the ceremonial groundbreaking and blessing of the school’s new outdoor athletic facilities.

The short ceremony took place after the school’s opening Mass on September 2. The Rev. Jim Flynn, O.S.A., head of school, first blessed the construction site, and then he, Malvern President Jim Stewart and Malvern’s retired football coach, Gaspare “Gamp” Pellegrini – along with student representatives from each of Malvern’s 16 sports – donned construction helmets, picked up shovels and dug into the earth at the site. The ceremony was an opportunity to announce the progress of the project and involve the Malvern community, as construction began on July 28 and is on pace for completion of the field portion this fall.

To date, Malvern has raised more than $2.2 million in gifts and pledges toward the construction of The PAC, which will contain an all-purpose turf field, an eight-lane all-weather track and new tennis courts. Malvern’s new outdoor athletic facilities will be named in honor of Pellegrini, who retired after the 2008 season and is honorary co-chair of The Campaign for Malvern Athletics.

More photos from the groundbreaking and construction progress can be found in the Stewardship and Fundraising Events section of the Malvern Prep online photo gallery.

Even though construction is underway, the school is still short of its $2.5 million goal, and the full project will not be completed unless the additional money is raised. To learn more about The Campaign for Malvern Athletics, please visit www.malvernprep.org/ThePAC. On this site you can find out what a tremendous impact a facility like this will have on the School in the Case for Support, and how Malvern needs such a facility to compete in today’s competitive admissions environment. You can also give online right now and add your important contribution to this exciting project.

For more information, or to make a pledge over the phone, please contact Carrie Snyder, Assistant Director of Development at 484-595-1115 or csnyder@malvernprep.org.




















Students participating in the grounbreaking were Paul Valente, Ryan Flynn (swimming), T.J. Hanzsche (lacrosse), Leo Parsons (tennis), Brian Aller (soccer), Joe Rava (football), Chris O’Brien (baseball), Robert Scaramuzza (wrestling), Austin Bury (crew), Regan Papariello (golf), Zach Olah (hockey), Jake Stokes (rugby), Rich D’Ambrosio (track and field), Lamon Church (basketball), Will Grant (water polo), Keith Dreyer (squash) and Brendan Bell (cross country).