Penn State committee approves first Beaver Stadium renovation funding request; when could construction start?

Penn State Athletics is one step closer to starting its renovation of Beaver Stadium. The university’s Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning approved the first round of funding for the massive project on Thursday. The plan will be fully set in motion if passed by the full Board of Trustees on Friday.

The first set of funding cannot exceed $70 million. It will be used for “design costs, professional consultant expenses, acquisition of permits, stadium winterization costs, and related expenses.” That’s according to a Board of Trustees document.

As Blue-White Illustrated first reported in April, Penn State plans to work on the west side of the 63-year-old, 107,000-seat venue first. A news release says that “the total project, to be completed in four years, is estimated to cost about $700 million”.

“The current proposed Beaver Stadium renovation will extend the life of the existing facility, generate new revenue, and greatly improve the quality of the fan experience,” a Board of Trustees agenda document reads. “The plan is to focus on the west side of the stadium to provide improved access for broadcasting, greatly improved circulation, new restrooms, upgraded concession offerings, and much-needed premium seating. 

“Improvements to the rest of the stadium will include improved vertical circulation, upgraded concourses, circulation renovations to enhance accessibility, restroom additions, and upgraded concession quality and capacity. Field lighting improvements to meet NCAA standards are also planned.”

Scope and timeline on Beaver Stadium project from this afternoon's Penn State Board of Trustees meeting. pic.twitter.com/vbJHT2SNtu

— Nate Bauer (@NateBauerBWI) May 4, 2023

Here’s the proposed high-level schedule for the west side project:

Architect-engineer selection – June 2023

Design – June 2023 

Pre-construction – June 2024

Construction start – January 2025

Construction complete – August 2027

What would happen during the 2026 Penn State football season?

“We’d lose some seats, minimum seats,” Kraft said. “It’s impossible to do it without. It’s not a large amount. We’re not talking 10-20,000 seats. We will lose some. It would be one year of impact to the west side.”

The stadium will still have a capacity of more than 100,000 seats during the construction. Kraft said: “We will never be under 100,000 [seats].”

Penn State committee also approves other Athletics projects

Athletic director Pat Kraft asked for and received approval on several projects besides Beaver Stadium on Thursday. One focuses on the main headquarters for the football program, the Lasch Building.

“The project is an addition and renovation to the Lasch Football Building, occurring in multiple phases,” a project description says. “Phase 1 of the project, completed in 2021, included an addition to the weight room and entry experience and a renovation of the existing sports medicine area.

“The second phase of the project, represented in this proposal package, is a renovation of the second-floor office space, including demolition, enclosure work, MEP systems, graphics, and interior finishes.”

An indoor practice bubble for Olympic sports teams is also good to go. So, too, is work related to the Greenberg Indoor Sports Center Training Table Renovation and Addition. The Jeffrey Field Soccer Complex Renovation and Addition was OK’d, too. An East Area locker room renovation project was green-lit, too.

All must still pass the full Board on Friday. But, the expectation is that they will. It means that Penn State Athletics will soon officially begin work on projects across the State College campus.