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athletic director Sandy Barbour said. "Those are non-negotiables in terms of 'do we or don't we?' We need to address that from a fan standpoint. ... We need to help motivate fans to come to games." No matter what Penn State plans to build, construction won't begin until 2023 at the earliest. Beaver Stadium isn't included on the list of projects that In- tercollegiate Athletics o:cials hope to build in the next 8ve years. The most immediate priorities outlined in the master plan are for a centralized athletic hub called the Center of Excellence, a multisport indoor practice facility, a new or extensively renovated natatorium, an indoor tennis facility and improvements to Je9rey Field. The football stadium would follow those projects, with the timeline stemming in large part from the university's need to undertake major fundraising and planning initiatives before it can begin work on a project of such an immense scale. "If we could start renovating Beaver Stadium today, we would," Barbour said. "That's going to take us beyond this 8ve-year period in order to do that. We're doing Beaver Stadium as quickly as can be expected." Since opening in 1960, the stadium has been expanded seven times, with its most recent growth spurt occurring in 2001. Unlike those earlier projects, the makeover that is envisioned in the mas- ter plan will reduce the stadium's seat- ing capacity, even as the building's footprint grows by about 500,000 square feet. However, athletic o:cials were quick to note that the changes will not reduce capacity below 100,000. Deputy athletic director Phil Esten esti- mated that the stadium will seat about 103,000 when work is completed on the renovations. "That's an important number for us," Esten said. "We think that's a competi- tive advantage." Beaver Stadium is currently able to hold 106,572 spectators, making it the second-largest stadium in the country and third-largest in the world. One of the reasons for the anticipated decline in capacity is that Penn State plans to install more chair-back seats in place of the current bleacher seats, which can accommodate more fans but are less comfortable. Partnering with the sports architec- ture 8rm Populous, Penn State surveyed alumni and fans to help formulate the details of its plan for the stadium. The need to accommodate fans will also dictate the construction schedule when that time comes. Rather than shutting down the stadium while the project is under way, Penn State will likely do the work in phases over a pe- riod of consecutive years to ensure that the stadium is capable of hosting games during the fall. Texas A&M recently used that approach to complete a $450 mil- lion makeover of Kyle Field, beginning work in 2013 and 8nishing in 2015. Pop- ulous was involved in that project as well. If Beaver Stadium's reconstruction takes three to four years as anticipated, the earliest the project could be com- pleted is 2026. ■ BEAVER STADIUM PSU's foot- ball home would grow by about 500,000 square feet but would lose about 3,500 seats in the pro- posed re- design. Image cour- tesy of Penn State Ath- letics

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