Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1462941
1 4 A P R I L 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M W hen Penn State announced its facili- ties master plan in March 2017, one of the most intriguing images it unveiled was of a reimagined Beaver Stadium. In the rendering, the girders and beams that are currently exposed were wrapped in a brick facade, and a lime- stone colonnade stood on the west side of the facility. The design was reminiscent of nu- merous other buildings on Penn State's campus but was radically different from the stadium that Nittany Lion foot- ball fans have come to know in the six decades since Beaver Field was disas- sembled and moved to an empty piece of land on the opposite side of campus. The new-and-improved stadium was the most ambitious of all the proj- ects that Penn State and its partner, the sports architecture firm Populous, envi- sioned in their extensive reimagining of the university's athletics infrastructure. Athletics director Sandy Barbour con- ceded that it was "a massive project," and given the scope and cost, no time- line was offered for its groundbreaking. Five years have since passed, and the stadium project still appears to be no- where near shovel-ready. But in early March, Penn State took a step forward in its efforts to modernize the 106,572-seat facility. The university announced that it was teaming up with Populous and the sports and entertainment consult- ing firm CAA ICON to survey members of the Penn State fan and campus com- munities about what they would want a revamped Beaver Stadium to look like. "All options are being con- sidered to provide Penn State and Nittany Nation with a world class, long-term sta- dium solution," the university said in a prepared statement announcing the survey. "Fan input and feedback will be es- sential in evaluating all poten- tial options." Penn State had previously announced a study aimed at "reviewing and evaluating current and upcoming required major maintenance projects, as well as inves- tigating renovation options to improve fan comfort and provide a greater vari- ety of amenities to support the evolving needs of the student-athletes, fans and campus community." The purpose of those outreach efforts is to come up with recommendations for meeting the stadium's short- and long-term needs and to figure out how to improve the fan and student-athlete experience. Beaver Stadium has undergone nine significant renovation projects since it was moved to its present location in 1960, with most of those aimed at increasing its capacity. It is now the second-largest stadium in the coun- try, trailing only Michigan Stadium (107,601), and it ranks fourth in the world. However, it's possible that the next major renovation, when- ever it occurs, will decrease the stadium's capacity. The univer- sity has looked at replacing the bleachers with chair-back seats, a move that one Penn State ath- letics official estimated in 2017 would reduce capacity to about 103,000. — Matt Herb Penn State Seeks Opinions On Beaver Stadium's Future College Football's Largest Stadiums RK STADIUM SCHOOL CAPACITY 1. Michigan Stadium Michigan 107,601 2. Beaver Stadium Penn State 106,572 3. Ohio Stadium Ohio State 102,780 4. Kyle Field Texas A&M 102,733 5. Neyland Stadium Tennessee 102,455 6. Tiger Stadium LSU 102,321 7. Texas Memorial Stadium Texas 100,119 8. Bryant-Denny Stadium Alabama 100,077 9. Sanford Stadium Georgia 92,746 10. Rose Bowl UCLA 90,888 Beaver Stadium was the biggest of several projects that Penn State unveiled when it announced its facilities master plan in 2017. The plan was aimed at improving PSU's facilities over a 20-year timeline. RENDERING COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS