Police order rioting fans to leave State College streets

A joyous celebration briefly turned ugly in downtown State College when college-aged football fans flooded the streets.

Several dozen fans gathered near street corners immediately following Philadelphia's 41-33 Super Bowl win over New England.

The crowds grew to the thousands over the next 15 minutes until State College and Penn State police shut down part of East Beaver Avenue. Alpha Fire Company also responded to assist police in blocking off the road.

Law enforcement in riot gear was disbursed in the area in an attempt to keep fans on the sidewalks.

Penn State police declared the crowd an unlawful disturbance at about 10:45 p.m. and ordered the crowd to dispurse.

There was no property damage committed by anyone in the crowd, according to State College police Capt. Chris Fishel.

The order was given to disburse due to safety issue brought about by the size of the crowd in the streets, which was in the thousands. Police used pepper spray over the top of the fans, as some ignored directions to leave.

The crowd was dispursed by 11:20 p.m. and Beaver Avenue was reopened.

No arrests were made during the postgame celebration.

This story was originally published February 4, 2018 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Police order rioting fans to leave State College streets."