Sunday Column: Change Is Coming To Penn State’s Aging Football Home. What Does That Mean For The Fans?

Penn State on Friday announced potential plans to consider a project of unspecified scope or cost – pending approval, of course.

Sigh.

However, in making this nowhere-near-definitive announcement during a board of trustees meeting and subsequent media release, university president Neeli Bendapudi confirmed that Beaver Stadium is going to receive a renovation rather than a replacement, which was not exactly surprising but probably nonetheless needed saying. Also of interest in the release was that “the project also has the potential to expand use beyond football game days.”

More on that second part in a bit. As for the big sorta-news, Bendapudi, newly minted athletic director Patrick Kraft, and the various other Penn State administrators who will be involved in the project will have some interesting decisions to make about the future of what has become, for better and worse, one of the most iconic venues in all of sport. And all that might be at stake is the loyalty of one of the largest and most passionate fan bases in the world.

The Beav, that great big Erector set at the northeast corner of campus, is rickety, outdated, and outfitted with seats that were designed for butts of another era. It doesn’t have enough entries and exits, let alone a concourse. And the troughs need no further explanation.

And yet, each of those things are, in some twisted way, part of the old girl’s charm. Because for all the ways it begs for an upgrade, the stadium is also filled with memories. The fans who make the yearly pilgrimages from Erie and Scranton and Johnstown and Richmond and Trenton sit in the same tiny seats, eat the same food, clap along to the same Blue Band songs, and yell the same obscenities at the referees as they did when Warner or Ki-Jana were running into the end zone. They know the people who sit in their section, if not by name then by at least a familiar nod, linked by a common bond that transcends class and race and profession and religion, if only for a few hours on Saturday. College football is about tradition, and few places embrace that word the way they do here.

Adding improved amenities to the stadium is a no-brainer, in many ways. The concession stands are in need of upgrade and could quickly pay for themselves (and might even include Coca-Cola!) Accessibility is a problem in many sections. Won’t even mention the press box, but there is likely a demand for additional and/or improved club seats and suites. Chairback seats in all parts of the stadium (OK, maybe not the student section), or at least bleachers that don’t pitch forward, would create added comfort for fans of all ages and sizes.

And yet, change is tricky. New and improved doesn’t always mean better. There are many fans who would love the extra cheek room but not if it meant their seats on the 25 would now be in the end zone—or given to those with more Nittany Lion Club points. Many would be content to wait in lines to stand at a trough rather than pay higher ticket prices. It’s important to modernize to help cater to younger alumni, to be sure, but doing so without alienating the 30- or 40-year season ticket holders will take some careful planning.

The other interesting part of this is that, unlike the $7.5 million going toward renovations for the football practice facility, the stadium improvements are unlikely to have a direct impact on the team itself. The environment has sold many a Penn State recruit, but it was because of the collective noise the fans made, the way their white shirts contrasted with the autumn Pennsylvania sky. Would they rather play in front of 95,000 comfy fans sipping $14 IPAs or 107,000 chugging Bud Light? Provided there are cameras and NFL scouts in the building each week, the players are unlikely to care much either way.

Bendapudi made sure to note that the renovation would not be funded by tuition, student fees, or any educational budget. And though Penn State’s athletic department remains self-sustaining, it’s not exactly flush with cash after enduring the pandemic and footing the bill for ongoing capital projects. The university will no doubt look for additional sources of revenue that don’t include jacking up ticket prices to astronomical levels, especially if, as rumor has it, the renovations will reduce capacity and, in turn, the number of people paying for tickets and subsequent ticket revenue, which is the closest thing the department has had to a cash cow.

That’s why the “expanded use beyond game days” note is so intriguing. Could that mean the stadium hosting the state high school football championships, which are typically held in early December, or even the occasional neutral site NFL game in December or January? What about more events like the “Happy Valley Jam” concert a few years back that featured country artists like Blake Shelton and Big & Rich?

Of course, that “use” could mean a multitude of things. As could the nature of the renovations themselves. Just how far along Penn State is in the planning process and where officials think the money might be coming from is not yet known, or at least not yet being said. But when the process is approved, and the blueprints are being drawn up, the shot-callers would be wise to remember the traditions of the thousands of fans who have called Beaver Stadium home and to see that they aren’t left behind when the building finally heads into the future.