Penn State Positions Beaver Stadium as a Year-Round Entertainment Venue

Penn State’s Beaver Stadium in April hosted the only Pennsylvania date of Luke Combs’ “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour,” drawing more than 73,000 concert-goers to the home of Nittany Lions football. It was the largest crowd of Combs’ tour to date and the largest crowd at Beaver Stadium for a concert. Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi underscored that point when pitching a $700 million Beaver Stadium renovation to the university’s Board of Trustees.

“That kind of event and so many more would have significant positive impacts for our community and will help to drive economic growth in our region,” Bendapudi told the trustees.

When Penn State reintroduces Beaver Stadium for the 2027 college football season, the 64-year-old building won’t be just a football stadium anymore. With dozens of new suites, 21,000 square feet of new event space and a seating capacity still above 100,000, Beaver Stadium will be a year-round entertainment venue — one that Penn State hopes will generate new revenue streams to pay for not only its renovation but also the future of Penn State football.

For Penn State, Beaver Stadium must become a facility that hosts more than seven home football games, a spring scrimmage and the occasional wedding, graduation ceremony and annual 5K finish line. Beaver Stadium needs to host more concert tours, international soccer matches and that NHL Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers that the athletic department has teased for a decade. Trustee Ali Krieger, a former Penn State All-American soccer player and U.S. World Cup champion, suggested Beaver Stadium as a venue for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, should the U.S. host.

RELATED: The Beaver Stadium renovation FAQ

Moreover, Penn State wants Beaver Stadium to become a 12-month destination for smaller events such as corporate meetings, private functions and basically any large or small gathering in central Pennsylvania. That’s why Penn State officials scrapped the idea of simply completing Beaver Stadium’s $200 million repairs backlog, which they said would produce a $655 million deficit over the next 30 years. Instead, if conducted according to their budget models, the $700 million renovation would generate a $44 million profit, officials said.

“We looked at just repairing it, and there are more than $200 million worth of repairs needed for the stadium,” Sara Thorndike, Penn State senior vice president for finance & business/treasurer, said in an interview. “And the problem with just going that route is, it doesn’t generate any new revenue to pay for it.”

“By making these renovations, Beaver Stadium would be one of the only multi-use entertainment facilities at this scale between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.”

– Patrick Kraft, Penn State AD

Penn State officials repeatedly have said that the athletics department will pay for the renovation entirely and that no tuition dollars or money from the university’s general fund will be used. Thorndike said that Penn State conducted multiple “stress tests” to study ways that Beaver Stadium could generate new sources of revenue. Among them:

Further, Penn State estimated that the renovation could generate $134.3 million in philanthropy. That includes $80 million in donations for the new Founder’s Suite.

“By making these renovations, Beaver Stadium would be one of the only multi-use entertainment facilities at this scale between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,” Kraft told the trustees. “The enhancements to Beaver Stadium will create significant new revenue and increase philanthropy opportunities that will allow us to reinvest funds into all of our student-athletes and allow athletics to continue to be self-supporting. Equally as important, by equipping the stadium for these events, we’ll be able to increase the number of visitors to the region, which will help bolster the local economy. … The opportunity to host non-football activities and large-scale events at Beaver Stadium will bring additional economic growth year-round.”

In a 2022 study, the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau reported that Penn State football generates $87 million in annual economic impact to Centre County and $97 million in the state. The study estimated that football fans spend $66.9 million on transportation, food, lodging and retail while in State College for games. Penn State now wants to put Beaver Stadium to revenue-generating use beyond the fall.

“The positive impact of a renovated Beaver Stadium on athletics, on our university and on the surrounding communities will be profound,” Bendapudi told the trustees. “… Most Penn Staters think of Beaver Stadium as the home of our football program, and we are very, very excited about the potential of these changes to take the gameday experience to a new level. But frankly, our objectives go much further than that.”

In their renovation proposal to trustees, Penn State officials noted that athletics must come up with new revenue sources quickly. One presentation slide highlighted the looming new costs of “player compensation/revenue sharing” for which athletic departments nationwide soon must budget. The NCAA and five collegiate conferences recently agreed to settle a civil suit that will permit schools to pay players directly. Some estimates suggest athletic departments could share $20 million or more with athletes beginning in 2025.

“We have rising expenses for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics on the horizon,” Bendapudi said, “and so we truly believe the time is now to move forward.”

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.