Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1499919
5 4 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M HOME IMPROVEMENT Penn State's upcoming renovation project is just the latest in a series of upgrades to its iconic football venue I t is one of the great historic venues in all of college sports, but if Joe Paterno had gotten his way back in the late 1950s, Beaver Stadium might not exist, at least not in its current configura- tion. An assistant coach on Rip Engle's staff at the time, Paterno was attending a team meeting in which Engle announced that Penn State was planning to chop up New Beaver Field, the football program's home since 1909, and truck the pieces to a parcel of university-owned land east of campus, where they were to be reassembled into a new, larger stadium. The headstrong young assistant coach couldn't believe it. He held his tongue during the meeting but approached Engle afterward to voice his objections. "Coach, that would be a big mistake," Paterno told him. "You're going to destroy Penn State football." He was too late, of course. The decision had already been made, and by people with more clout than anyone in the football program. Many years later, Paterno recounted the story with a chuckle. "That's how smart I was," he said. "That was 75,000 seats ago." A Thrilling Environment Beaver Stadium has been a work in progress ever since it opened at its present location in 1960. There have been eight major renovation projects, most of which have been aimed at accommodating ever-larger throngs of spectators. In 1978, the stadium was cut into sections and raised 8 feet using hydraulic jacks so that 16,000 seats could be added to the lower bowl. In 1991, an upper deck was built above the north end zone. Ten years later, the south end zone was enclosed, boosting the venue's capacity to 107,282. The expansions have given rise to one of the most thrilling game-day environments in college football, particularly on White Out nights. M A T T H E R B | M A T T . H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Shown here in 1964, Beaver Stadium was built four years earlier from the reassembled parts of New Beaver Field, the Nittany Lions' home during the program's formative years. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS