Boston College Dedicates the Pete Frates Center 

Chestnut hill, Mass (3-26-22)—Boston College officially dedicated the Pete Frates Center--a 31,000-square foot indoor baseball and softball facility on the Brighton Campus named in honor of the late BC baseball captain and 2007 graduate--at a moving March 26 ceremony attended by family, friends, benefactors, and members of the BC community.

Frates, who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at age 34 in December of 2019, was a leader in the search for a cure, most notably through his role as an inspiration for the Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised more than $220 million for ALS research. 

The center, completed in November of 2020 through the generous support of the Yawkey Foundation and a community of donors, features locker rooms and player lounges, plus sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and equipment space on its lower level. The upper level houses a state-of-the-art, eight-tunnel hitting facility with an indoor turf field and retractable netting. The upper level also hosts a hospitality area and deck overlooking the baseball field.

The ceremony featured remarks from University President William P. Leahy, S.J., and Frates’ siblings Jennifer Mayo ’04 and Andrew Frates, along with Pete’s wife Julie ’12, all of whom spoke about how much Boston College meant to Pete and how grateful they were to Yawkey Foundation President James P. Healey;’75, P’ 05, and University Trustee Associate John L. Harrington ’57, M.B.A. ’66, H ’10, P ’82, ’89, ’94, the namesake of the Harrington Athletics Village, which includes the Frates Center.