Joining the Penn State Alumni Association and Nittany Lion Club for a virtual “Coaches Caravan” Tuesday evening, facilities were at the top of the list of topics for athletic director Sandy Barbour.
Specifically, in the wake of news in February that Penn State’s Board of Trustees had approved $48.3 million in funding for Lasch Building renovations, and a press release May 27 noting the athletic department’s partnership with global architecture firm Populous to study Beaver Stadium renovations, Barbour was asked about the progress for each project.
Her most recent answers, forthcoming and honest, should give Penn State fans a better picture of the realities of each. Having prioritized the completion of a massive set of Lasch complex renovations that have been completed in phases since seemingly James Franklin’s arrival with the Nittany Lions, the day-to-day home of Penn State football is fast-tracked to finality.
“The board approved one of two last large phases to Lasch,” Barbour said. “We've been doing it piece by piece, and we determined that wasn't cost or time-efficient. So we've made a decision to do them all at once in two bigger pieces.
“We've been doing the prep now to make sure that we're ready to go as soon as the conclusion of the fall '21 football season, and that will be done before the '22 season, and then we'll have one phase left there… So we're almost done with that project.”
This, no doubt, is welcomed news for Franklin in his pursuit of putting Penn State on even footing, or something approximating it, when it comes to facilities improvements among the best and most competitive college football programs in the country.
Long lagging behind the steady progress of the Nittany Lions’ peers, both in the Big Ten as well as on the stage nationally the program and its fans would like to consider itself, Lasch Building improvements throughout the first floor of the locker room, team meeting facilities, and training facilities will be complemented by eventual improvements to the upstairs lobby and coaches/staff facilities that occupy the second level.
Additionally, and maybe more important, plans are on tap for “upgrades designed to support the health and safety of student-athletes, including a first-floor weight room expansion and performance enhancement equipment upgrades.” As Barbour indicated, planning and prep work is ongoing, with smaller projects in their beginning stages right now (including the “QB Lab”), intending to begin bigger projects at the end of the ’21 season until the start of the 2022 season.
A priority project dictating not only the day-to-day experience of Penn State’s current players and staff but also its prospective players, that progress has been an essential and critically needed element for the program to meet its goals.
The converse, however, is likely true of Beaver Stadium, which Barbour acknowledged in full Tuesday evening.
“The Beaver Stadium project is at the other end of the life cycle,” Barbour said. “This study is the next step in our journey to renovate Beaver Stadium. It'll be a massive multi-year project.
“I want to be very clear, we're not getting ready to put any shovels in the ground. We need to make sure that our planning and our decisions about what our needs are and how we're going to address those needs are addressed in this study.”
A collaboration with Populous that has been in progress throughout the spring, the acknowledgment recognizes exactly where the Beaver Stadium project is currently for those wondering.
Still attempting to decide what Beaver Stadium is, what it could be, and what it should become, Penn State’s goal is to expand its vision before narrowing its focus.
“We’re talking to a lot of different constituents, on campus and off, about what our needs are and looking at really having Beaver Stadium as an asset to our community, but be used more than eight or nine days out of the year,” Barbour said. “So what other activities, what other benefits to the community can be housed in Beaver Stadium that would make it be more than an eight-day a year facility? We’re also looking at the long-term maintenance, making sure we have a solid plan, as well as the funding plan for the renovation. It's a big step, and a huge project, and one that I know our entire community joins in looking forward to.”
A contrast in priorities and progress for Penn State football and the athletic department, the approach is one Franklin and the Nittany Lions will aim to maximize as the program moves forward.
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