Penn State Trustees Approve $700 Million Beaver Stadium Renovation Plan

Penn State's Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved the planned $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium, which officials said would address $200 million in necessary repairs, generate new revenue streams and upgrade the nation's second-largest stadium into a year-round destination. After 100 minutes of public deliberation, and two years of planning, the board voted 26-2 to take the next step toward Beaver Stadium's future.

"I believe that Beaver Stadium is one of the most iconic buildings in all of sports, so [the renovation] keeps Beaver Stadium around for generations to come," Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft said in an interview Tuesday. "It will provide an increased revenue stream for us. I think we will continue to have the best gameday experience in the country. And I think it's a building now that we can use, much like we did with Luke Combs concert [in April], for far more than just seven or eight days in the fall."

Sara Thorndike, Penn State's senior vice president for finance & business/treasurer, said the university modeled three options for Beaver Stadium. The university ruled out building a new stadium, which would have cost about $2 billion and likely would have lowered stadium capacity below 100,000. The university also considered solely addressing the stadium's $200 million tab for outstanding repairs, though that model did not opportunities for new revenue.

"We have stress-tested multiple scenarios within the renovation [plan]," Thorndike said in an interview. "We are sure that we have enough revenue sources, both from the athletics budget but also from the new incremental revenues, to ensure that we could pay back as much as $700 million, even though that's not what we're intending."

As a result, Penn State landed on the $700 million plan, $70 million of which the board approved last year for design and initial maintenance. Thorndike told the board Tuesday that the initial stadium renovation cost is set at $664 million and would not exceed the planned $700 million. Penn State's athletics department will pay for the renovation without using tuition dollars or money from the university budget, officials said.

As detailed in 2023, the renovation will bring a "total transformation" to Beaver Stadium's West side, which will be demolished and rebuilt over the next three years. Penn State released some new details Tuesday about the renovation, including one image labeled as an "early draft." The renovation is scheduled to be complete in time for the 2027 college football season.

Among the details released in the renovation plan:

Beaver Stadium will undergo significant infrastructure repairs to address aging steel supports, concrete issues, and a "deteriorating press box with minimal investment since 1960." Stadium circulation will be improved with widened concourses and the addition of 24 elevators and 12 escalators. Rest-room capacity will increase by 15 percent, and concession locations will increase by 70 percent.

In addition, Penn State plans a significant overhaul of the stadium's West side to include club seats, loge boxes, and premium suites, including executive and Founder's suites. Further, Penn State plans to build a "Welcome Center" on the stadium's West side that will act as a "front-door" experience to the university. The center would include a planned 21,000 square feet of event space.

Kraft said in an interview that seating capacity for Beaver Stadium, currently the nation's second-largest at 106,572, will remain above 100,000. During a 100-minute public meeting of Penn State's Board of Trustees, one trustee referenced capacity reducing by 900 seats.

"We will be over 100,000 for sure," Kraft said. "We will continue to evaluate that. We want to have as big a stadium as we can. We want everyone to be able to have an opportunity to come to the games, and over 100,000 fans is really important. It’s part of our DNA. So we will continue to try to have it as big as we possibly can."

Kraft, who became Penn State's athletic director in 2022, said the Beaver Stadium renovation has been a two-year project within the university and outside stakeholders. Penn State hired Populous, a Kansas City-based architectural firm, to oversee the project. Kraft told the board that Beaver Stadium would be "one of the only multi-use entertainment facilities at this scale between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh."

"We're excited to get to this point," Kraft said. "We've worked extremely hard over the last two years to figure out what is the best scenario for us and Beaver Stadium. As you know, Beaver Stadium is not only critical to our department, but it's hugely important to the community, to Penn State as an institution and to State College. So this will be a huge part for us in generating revenue for our 31 teams. And I think there are pieces to this that are bigger than sports. Like the the Welcome Center, which will be really important for our admissions folks and welcoming prospective students. There will be event space that will be used 365 days [a year]. And so we're really excited to get to get the ball rolling on this."

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi reiterated to the board that Intercollegiate Athletics will fund the stadium entirely through bonds, philanthropy and new revenue streams. The budget currently does not include any state grants or other public funding options.

"Our intention is to borrow debt over the next three years, and only borrow as much as we need for the length of time necessary," Thorndike said in an interview. "So as we raise more money for the project, those monies may be used immediately for construction, and we won't borrow as much. So we're very good conservative in our pro forma and we can make the project work even if we had to borrow the entire $700 million over 30 years."

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.