What to know about parking and traffic changes for ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ at Penn State
ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be broadcasting live from Penn State’s Old Main lawn on Saturday ahead of Penn State’s 7:30 p.m. White Out game against Auburn at Beaver Stadium.
This is the 22nd time that “College GameDay” has made its way to the site of a Penn State game, the 10th time airing live from Happy Valley and the fifth time in as many seasons. Penn State is the only school to host “College GameDay” every season since 2017.
The show will air live from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, hosted by Rece Davis, with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, Chris Fallica, and reporters Jen Lada and Gene Wojciechowski.
Here’s what to know if you plan to go to “College GameDay.”
Traffic changes
- Pollock road between the Carnegie and Henderson buildings closed Tuesday to accommodate “College GameDay” production vehicles, and will remain closed until 6 p.m. Saturday.
- Penn State’s one-way traffic pattern around Beaver Stadium will kick into effect at 3:30 p.m., which is four hours before kickoff.
- Curtin Road will be closed between Bigler Road and Porter Road throughout Saturday.
Where to park
- There are three available parking garages on campus for fans attending “College GameDay,” which are the Eisenhower, HUB and Nittany parking decks.
- There are also three downtown parking garages that are all within three blocks of the Old Main lawn with hourly rates, including the Beaver Avenue Garage, the Fraser Street Garage and the Pugh Street Garage. Metered parking is available in downtown State College.
- Fans who have a Beaver Stadium parking permit are encouraged to park in their spaces that they use on game day. They are either encouraged to make the 1.3-mile walk or take the White or Blue CATA loops downtown with a walk that will only be 2-3 blocks to Old Main lawn.
- Several on-campus lots will be closed starting at midnight Friday in advance of Saturday’s game. Faculty/staff permits are honored at lots west of Bigler Road and students permits are honored at lots west of Bigler that permit weekend student parking. The lots will reopen once outflow football traffic is gone. Violators will face fines.
- Lots that are accessed off Pollock Road, including the Old Main lot, will also be closed through Saturday.
- A list of all the parking lots affected can be found at news.psu.edu.
What to know about the ‘GameDay pit’
- The show is free to attend.
- Fans can begin to line up for access to the pit at 5:30 a.m. Saturday and the pit will open to fans around 6:45 a.m. with no overnight camping allowed.
- Fans will be screened with metal detecting wands.
- No bags, backpacks or purses are allowed.
- No “offensive, vulgar, inappropriate or solicitation signage will be allowed (i.e., no political, religious, or .com, .org, .net signage)” is allowed according to the school and ESPN.
- No signs or flags on a stick, pens, pencils, markers or dry erase boards, food or drinks are allowed.
- Throwing items is prohibited.
- Fans are encouraged to wear a mask at all times.
- Fans coming to be a part of the atmosphere outside the pit are welcome to come and go at any time.
Transportation recommendations
- Penn State will make parking arrangements for fans planning on attending the show with Beaver Stadium parking lots opening at 8 a.m.
- On-campus students are encouraged to walk to Old Main lawn or to take the CATA White or Blue Loop buses and walk from the Burrowes Street or Schlow Library stops on Beaver Avenue (White) or the intersection of College Avenue and Allen Street (Blue).
The students who live off campus and other State College residents are “encouraged to walk to Old Main or take the CATA bus and walk from the Schlow Library stop on Beaver Avenue.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 4:01 PM.
