Blue White Illustrated

Some say that massive stadiums are going to become a liability, that atten- dance is inevitably going to decline throughout college football as home theater technology improves and fans choose to avoid the tra?c jams, the un- predictable fall weather and the expense of going to games in person. But Penn State has an edge over some other schools, including its two in-state rivals, in that alumni return not just for the games but for the game day experience. They want to head to town on Friday and visit their favorite watering hole, which is probably still there, even if they grad- uated at the dawn of the Paterno era. They want to wander around the cam- pus where they spent some of the best years of their lives. At Pitt and Temple, you can spend all day at the stadium and never lay eyes on your alma mater. Still, it was a telling moment when, in promoting the Stripe Out game against Rutgers, Franklin talked not just about the atmosphere in the stadium but about the impression the scene was sure to make on viewers at home. Said the coach, "It's going to look great on TV, on the Big Ten Network." It did look great on TV, as Saquon Barkley and Akeel Lynch combined to rush for 315 yards, sending a message that this is a program on the rise. That's a big deal, because the main variable in calculating Penn State's future atten- dance is the quality of the product it puts on the =eld. People may love chair- back seats. They may love stadium-wide Wi-Fi. But what they really love are championships. If it wants to keep the turnstiles spinning, the best change Penn State could make to its stadium would be to add a few digits to the list of great seasons on the ring of honor. ■ T H E 2 0 1 5 S E A S O N take Penn State's stadium and atten- dant atmosphere hands down. A lot of teams go with state-of-the-art stadi- ums to maximize revenue, but I am not sure that makes sense for the Penn State fan base. I think you would po- tentially lose a lot of the hard-nosed, blue-collar type of fans that help make Penn State one of the greatest game day atmospheres in the country. I say renovate the Beav as needed but no need to build a smaller state-of- the-art facility. In this case, bigger is better. Schools don't really build 100k stadiums anymore, so having such a massive stadium is a comparative ad- vantage for PSU. Bsmith51 I don't see how you retrofit the benches to put in comfortable chair- backs. The leg room for moving in and out of an aisle is not there. Do what you can, but keep it intact. It is what it is, which is ours. When it's loud, it's beautiful. tgar The concessions are absolutely embarrassing. There is more variety and better food at a high school sta- dium. Ctel12592 Do what has to be done to make it more fan-friendly. The façade is seen on TV seven times a year. I find our stadium to be unique and an icon of PSU. Why mess with Mt. Rushmore if all you really need to do is clean it up a bit and improve fan facilities? I've been to many games there and never minded any part of my experi- ence. SCNit Colleges are going to go through some pretty rough times, I think, in the not-too-distant future. Does it make sense to do something brand new? The bulk of our fan base are Paterno-era fans. Will new alums keep this going? And I know I am alone on this one, but I don't think the future of football is all that rosy, either. delcoLion Retractable roof... last week [against Buffalo] sucked! matt1017 Penn State's plans for academic center move forward The Greenberg Indoor Sports Com- plex is set to be converted into an ac- ademic support center for student- athletes after the $7.2 million project was approved Sept. 18 by Penn State's board of trustees. The team of PJ Dick of Pittsburgh, and Hoffman Leakey Architects of Boalsburg, Pa., have designed and will construct the facility, which will serve as the new home to the Morgan Academic Support Center. Work is tentatively set to begin this month, with completion slated for before the start of the 2016 fall semester. The Morgan Academic Support Center offers tutoring and advising to Penn State student-athletes. Its computer labs, group study areas and meeting rooms are currently located in four separate locations on the Uni- versity Park campus: the East Area Locker Room, Lasch Football Build- ing, Rec Hall and the Bank of America Career Services Building. The reconstruction project will consolidate the Morgan Academic Center to include all services and staff in one location to better support and advise student-athletes, while providing them with a more student- centered academic support facility. The Greenberg Indoor Sports Com- plex was vacated with the completion of the Pegula Ice Arena in 2013. The majority of the first floor has since been renovated to serve as a swing space for multiple science laborato- ries being renovated as part of the university's five-year capital renewal plan. The remainder of the first floor and a portion of the ground floor will be renovated to accommodate stu- dents from the university's 31 varsity sports programs. ■

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