5/21/2024 football Edit

Penn State BOT approves Beaver Stadium renovation project

Dylan Callaghan-Croley • Happy Valley Insider

Editor

The long anticipated renovation of Beaver Stadium is one step closer to being reality. On Tuesday, Penn State's Board of Trustees approved the university's $700 million plans to renovate Beaver Stadium between January 2025 and Summer 2027.

The vote passed with only two dissenting votes from Anthony Lubrano and Barry Fenchak.

The renovations will be the stadium's biggest renovation since the renovations that took place between 1999 and 2001 which saw the additions of suites, the south upper deck, the club level, Letterman's lounge, and all-sports museum.

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You can find Penn State's full proposal as prepared for the Penn State Board of Trustees, here.

An early draft of what Beaver Stadium could potentially look like following the completion of renovations.

TIMELINE

Based on what was proposed to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, the timeline for the Beaver Stadium renovations would begin starting with Tuesday's approval, before the construction guaranteed maximum price would be due in October - that price will not exceed $700 million.

Next year, following the conclusion of the 2024 football season, the start of west side demolition would begin before the first rebuild phase begins. During this time, small maintenance projects and stadium improvements will be completed as well.

In 2026, the second phase of demolition and rebuild phase will start with the final phase expected to start in early 2027 before being completed ahead of the 2027 season. During both the 2025 and 2026 season there would be temporary construction conditions around Beaver Stadium on the West Side of the stadium.

WHAT COULD BE INCLUDED IN THE BEAVER STADIUM RENOVATIONS

Renovating Beaver Stadium based on current designs would increase the amount of restrooms available in the stadium by 15% while also increasing the amount of elevators, escalators, and stair towers. 102 new additional points of sale when it comes to concessions would also be available following the renovations, an increase of 70% from Beaver Stadiums current points of sale as well as the increase of sites available, an addition of loge boxes and the addition of a broadcast level within the Beaver Stadium press box.

WHO IS FINANCING THE RENOVATIONS?

The project in its entirety will be financed by Penn State's intercollegiate athletics department.

The renovation project is expected to have an impact of a $44m profit over 30-years following its completion thanks to potential enhanced ticket revenues, potential naming rights, premium seating opportunities, concession contracts, philanthropy and naming opportunities, event revenues, television and media rights, Big Ten revenue, and more.

For comparison, Penn State projected a $655 million deficit over 30-years if the university chose to simply repair Beaver Stadium's current issues with an upfront cost of $140 million while a completely brand new stadium would've cost the university over $2 billion and would've provided a deficit of $1.3 billion over 30 years.