Penn State announces latest seven-figure gift for Beaver Stadium renovation project
Penn State Athletics announced a new seven-figure donation toward its Beaver Stadium renovation project on Monday. A family who chose to remain anonymous gifted the athletic department $1 million. “The family, which includes multiple Penn State alums, has also been longtime supporters of Intercollegiate Athletics, Smeal College of Business and THON,” Penn State said.
“We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary generosity of an anonymous donor family whose $1 million gift will have a lasting impact on the Beaver Stadium Revitalization project,” Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said in a released statement. “This gift and the others we have received to date are a powerful testament to the broad support for our community and the exciting future ahead for our stadium.”
The Nittany Lions have now raised more than $65 million for the $700 million job. Winterization work is already complete to ensure the 107,000-seat venue can host a College Football Playoff game. It’s looking increasingly likely that Penn State will do that as one of the top eight seeds for the 12-team tournament. The latest CFP top 25 comes out Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. PSU enters the week at No. 4 in last week’s rankings.
Penn State will start Beaver Stadium work ASAP
Penn State plans to start its west side renovation as soon as the home slate is complete. The Lions host Maryland (4-7) on Saturday. With a win, a home Playoff game on either Dec. 20 or 21 is almost a certainty, meaning work will likely start in January, at the earliest. The school has yet to release full artist renderings of what the finished project will look like. But, premium and luxury seating will absolutely be added. A new press box will also be constructed. Work is set to be finished by the start of the 2027 season. And, the stadium will be operational for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, although whether or not seating capacity will be reduced is not yet clear.
Top 10
- 1Trending
Ryan Williams
Auburn LB calls out true freshman WR
- 2New
CFP using BCS formula
Predicting CFP Top 25 using BCS formula
- 3
Lee Corso
ESPN to meet on College GameDay future
- 4
Hoops AP Top 25
Big shakeup in CBB Top 25
- 5Hot
Paul Finebaum
What's next for Lane Kiffin
“We need the revenue to come off that building to pay for the renovation,” Kraft said in July. “We don’t have enough premium. That has to be a part of it.
“So all of that told, it wasn’t like we threw a dart and said, ‘Hey this is what it is.’ That’s what it costs to do what we need to do to get the building up healthy and alive again, and then to fix a lot of the other issues, and then when you do that, you’ve got to pay for it. The west side premium’s going to help us pay for it.”
