On the day the full Penn State Board of Trustees approved the first step of the $700 million plan to renovate Beaver Stadium, director of athletics Patrick Kraft made it clear Friday that one thing won’t change — its name.
“Beaver Stadium’s not on the table (when it comes to naming rights opportunities),” he said.
Kraft, Penn State’s director of athletics, said he could not get into specifics about the renovation, which is expected to be completed in four years, until a designer is chosen and a construction management team is hired.
In a telephone interview, he said he expects the Beaver Stadium seating capacity, which is now 107,282, to remain above 100,000.
“We’re all committed to over a hundred (thousand),” Kraft said. “We’re going to try to be as creative as possible in the building and look at different ways to bring people in. Maybe it goes to 107, 108, I really don’t know yet.”
The first phase of the project, which costs $70 million, is slated to begin in the next several months and scheduled to be completed within 12 months. It will include priority maintenance projects, architectural and design development and winterization, which will allow the stadium to be used when temperatures are below freezing for events such as a possible College Football Playoff home game starting in 2024.
The second phase is expected to begin in January 2025 and scheduled to be finished by August 2027. It includes complete reconstruction of the west stands, premium seating, a new press box, ongoing code upgrades, accessibility improvements, improved rest rooms, upgraded concessions and WiFi and cellular upgrades.
“The west stands are going to be totally redone,” Kraft said. “You’re going to have loge box, suites, club level and field club level seats. It will be a completely reimagined west side. There will be chairback (seats). The majority will be premium like that, but I couldn’t tell you a number.
“The west is the heartbeat of the stadium. The west is a critical piece of infrastructure for us.”
He said seating and capacity on the west side of the stadium will be affected during the 2025-26 football seasons.
“It will not be a dramatic effect, let me just put it that way,” Kraft said. “We’re going to try to minimize it when we do things and when we don’t. I just don’t have an answer yet. That’s why we’re anxious to get started.”
He said he expects to maintain the same size of the student section, which includes the lower bowl of the south stands and extends into the west and east stands.
The cost of the renovation will be financed and paid for entirely by Penn State’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, according to a press release Thursday. No tuition revenue or education budget funds will be used, but Kraft said it’s possible state money could be used.
“If the state wants to contribute from a community enrichment standpoint, that’s fine,” he said. “I don’t want to say no to that. It will be completely separate from what the institution gets in its appropriations.”
The athletic department also will fund several other projects that don’t include Beaver Stadium.
The second phase of renovations to the football program’s Lasch Building were approved at a cost of $22 million. They will include all office and meeting spaces on the second floor of Lasch and expansion and enclosure of the building’s patio.
The Greenberg Indoor Sports Center will be renovated to include a training table and a wellness and athletic training center for all 800-plus athletes on Penn State’s 31 varsity teams at a cost of $31.9 million.
Jeffrey Field, home to the Penn State men’s and women’s soccer teams, will undergo a $21.25 million improvement that will include a new operations facility, stadium renovation, parking and an entry plaza.
The operations center will house spaces for the coaching staffs, locker rooms and team meeting spaces. The stadium renovations will add indoor rest rooms, concession stands and standing room-only areas.
Both programs are housed in Rec Hall and transported by bus to Jeffrey Field for games. There, they’re housed in trailers without indoor plumbing.
“I know Beaver Stadium is getting all the attention right now, but the soccer field was the No. 1 priority from day one,” Kraft said. “Soccer needs it. We have two national championship(-level) programs. That is a really important piece for us. We’re really excited about it.”
In addition, an indoor air-supported practice facility, or bubble, will be built southeast of Jeffrey Field for $9.8 million and could be used by many varsity teams.
Finally, the first floor of the East Area Locker Room will be renovated for $5.2 million. Improvements will be made to the sports performance area, fueling stations, athletic training area, office suites and information technology suite.
“The training table space, the health and wellness center and the East Area are huge because they touch 31 teams,” Kraft said. “It’s really important to get those things started.”
