Penn State’s Beaver Stadium renovation plan gets approval from College Township

Penn State’s major Beaver Stadium renovation can officially move forward following College Township council’s unanimous approval Thursday of the final land development plan for the project.

HGR engineer Mark Saville presented the council with the final land development plans less than a month after they were given the green light by the township’s planning commission, although the final plans remain similar to the sketch plan that was shown to the council back in July.

The project narrative outlines the proposed internal and external work to the stadium.

“The internal work consists of new restrooms, upgraded concessions, and upgraded seating and broadcast level on the west side of the stadium. The external work consists of hardscape replacement and expansion on the east and west side of the stadium. These hardscape areas consist of concrete sidewalks, plazas, and site fencing,” the project narrative states.

Land development plans do not typically show the actual design of the building. In August, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft and deputy athletic director Vinnie James told the Centre Daily Times that a design plan could be coming in the fall.

Dwayne Rush, a project manager for Penn State and representative of the Office of Physical Plant, said at the Sept. 17 planning commission meeting that work on the stadium’s west side will begin at the end of this football season, and will continue through the next two seasons. Temporary seating will be in place during the 2025 and 2026 seasons to maintain the stadium’s seating capacity, he said.

He is expecting work on the $700 million renovation to finish in 2027, before the start of the Penn State football season.

Saville’s presentation Thursday started by highlighting the work that’s been done on the stadium already, including the addition of new escalators at Gates A and E.

“I don’t know if you’ve been to a game yet this year, but with the early addition of the escalators (the stadium) has significantly improved the movement of people from the field level up to the concourse level of those areas,” Saville said.

The escalators allowed Beaver Stadium to be cleared in less than an hour after the Nittany Lion’s game against Illinois last Saturday, he said.

Also included in the already-finished work on the stadium are upgrades to the Wi-Fi and cellular service, new video boards, restroom upgrades and a winterization that would allow the Nittany Lions to potentially host a College Football Playoff game in December.

The concourses in the stadium are going to be widened, which, according to Saville, is a important part of the overall project and a key factor in improving security, safety and the fan experience.

“One significant element to this is also is the expanded concourses that they’re doing,” Saville said. “What this is really about is the safety of the movement of people up on the concourse level because some of the concourses were really tight, so we’re expanding the width of those to get more free movement of the people up on that level as they’re circulating around.”

The stadium will be surrounded by new fencing, which will create areas of space in between the walls of the stadium and the parking lots that will serve as new “fan experience zones.” The fencing will serve as the boundary for the stadium’s ticketed zone, with some it already being constructed outside the stadium’s east side.

All of the stadium’s new features will increase the site’s impervious surface amount, meaning that a third stormwater management facility will be constructed to help with the treatment of the water. In order to meet the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s stormwater mandates and fulfill one of the township’s land development conditions, it will have to be one of the first things constructed in regards to the renovations, per Saville.

The council members at Thursday’s meeting expressed their satisfaction with the final plans.

“Everything I saw is improvements — I love seeing the investments here,” council member Rich Francke said. “I mean (Beaver Stadium) is a world-class asset and we’re investing in it for more use which is good. ... You’re increasing the fan experience but you’re also increasing the security perimeter for that type of facility, which is a sure positive. The other one I really liked is more points of egress.”

The final land development plan was approved unanimously, given that some conditions are satisfied within 90 days after council’s approval.

College Township’s approval is the latest step in the planning process. In September, the College Township Planning Commission recommended that the developers bring the final land development plan to the council, and in May, the Penn State board of trustees approved spending up to $700 million in stadium renovations.

The project has also drawn some controversy, with concerns raised over the past months about the hefty price tag, transparency through the process and more.

The next College Township meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17.

This story was originally published October 4, 2024 at 2:32 PM.