‘Ready to go.’ Q&A with Penn State AD Pat Kraft on Phase 1 of Beaver Stadium project
The first phase of Penn State’s Beaver Stadium reconstruction project is complete and the start of the football season is under two weeks away. That will be the general public’s first opportunity to see the latest changes to the venue, with two years to go in the $700 million project.
The Centre Daily Times spoke to Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft about the first phase and the changes fans will see during the Aug. 30 season opener — including the new temporary seating in the stadium.
Here’s everything Kraft said about the project.
Note: Responses have been edited for brevity.
Centre Daily Times: Are there any safety concerns with the temporary seating?
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft: No, there is not. We’re not going to put or do anything to put anybody in jeopardy. Everything that goes in that building is checked, double checked, triple checked. This system that’s there is not uncommon for other projects like this. Northwestern has the stadium there, I believe it was Florida State, and others — Kansas. But they all meet code. They all met L&I standards, like any construction project. I’m not out there, just putting tip n’ rolls out there. So we’ve been handed over the building. We feel good. Honestly, they’re really good seats. I have walked them and sat in them. The view is actually really good. They are ready to go.
CDT: How did Phase 1 of the reconstruction project go?
Kraft: Very well. Really, really pleased. It is amazing to see it in action, right? So you go and you look at these drawings and renderings. And then when you get over there in the last two months and you start to see this all come to fruition, it’s pretty remarkable. The fact that we’re going to be able to have, and continue to have, the most hostile environment in sports, and be able to do that and keep our capacity where it is, is pretty awesome. So we’re really fired up. I am blown away by the size and scope of the construction project. I mean, once again, you see it, but when you walk it, it’s pretty remarkable. I give a ton of credit to the construction crew working through the heat, the rain, the snow. It’s it’s pretty awesome. We’re really excited. I’m excited, honestly, for our fans to get a glimpse of the size and scope of the project.
CDT: Has anything changed from the original plan for phase one?
Kraft: The only thing I would say that has changed is we created a bunch of new premium areas that I think are absolutely lights out, that will only be for this year because of the construction footprint. Like the construction club, which is in essence a bar — tall boy chairs bar — (with) incredible views of the field on one of the new concourse levels. So creating little areas like that with the open space, that is probably the biggest change from the greater plan that we had.
CDT: Will any stadium work go on during the 2025 season?
Kraft: Yeah, they won’t stop. So you’ll see that there will be a temp-wall fenced area that work will still continue to go. They’ll clean it up basically Thursday night so that we’re ready to go Friday, Saturday, and then they’re going to come right back and keep working. So you’ll see main concourse bathrooms concessions all behind the temp wall, that work is ongoing. They won’t stop.
CDT: What will happen in the second phase?
Kraft: It’s finishing what I call the super structure. Just finishing the bones of it. Getting the top part of the building down, the club levels finished to a certain extent, and then the upper part of the bowl. Then coming back around the following year and working on the lower bowl.
CDT: Did you learn anything in the first phase that has impacted the rest of the project?
Kraft: We wanted to expand the east concourse this off season. Well, when we started to dig on the pillars, we needed to reinforce like 56 different — for lack of a better word — pillars that were all different. Every single one was designed differently underneath the ground. So we had to go in there and redo, basically reinforce, 56 of these structures to make sure we were able to expand the east concourse. It’s like anything with building, you start to work through it, you’re like, that’s not going to work. I think that was the biggest curveball we faced, knock on wood. So the east concourse will be ready at this point next year.
CDT: Will the temporary seating on the east side of the stadium stay in place when the reconstruction is complete?
Kraft: We’ll see. I like it. The more seats I can get in that building, the better. Everything is on the table. Everything is on the table with Beaver Stadium and the seating capacity.
CDT: Is there anything else fans should know?
Kraft: I’m excited to have everybody in it for Nevada. It’s safe, it’s ready to go. We will be able to keep the the environment where it is — the best environment in all sports. So we’re fired up. I’m excited for people to get to see it and really excited to kick the ball off.
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 10:50 AM.
