Penn State's Beaver Stadium To Get $700 Million Makeover

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — Penn State will spend a staggering $700 million to renovate 63-year-old Beaver Stadium over the next four years.

The renovation will focus on the stadium's west side, which will be completely reconstructed, university officials said. While the west side's bowl seating will remain, executive and founder's suites will be added, as will club and loge seating areas.

Additional renovations will include code upgrades, accessibility improvements and enhanced fan amenities. Those involve improved circulation to ease spectator congestion throughout the stadium, improved restrooms, modernized concession areas, Wi-Fi and cellular upgrades and additional seating options.

The project likely will come as good news to the more than 50,000 Penn State alumni living in Western Pennsylvania, many of whom make the trek to the stadium on select fall Saturdays. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia each have more than 18,000 Penn State Alumni Association members, according to the university.

University officials said no tuition dollars or educational budget funds will be used for the renovations. The project will be financed and paid for entirely by the university's athletic department.

Patrick Kraft, the university's vice president of intercollegiate athletics, predicted additional revenues generated throughout the renovated stadium not only will offset construction costs, but also will enhance the university's overall athletics budget in the future.

"In addition to stadium-generated revenue, we will embark on a major philanthropic campaign with a goal of raising more than $200 million to support the stadium renovation and other athletic department priorities," he said in a statement. "Further, we expect to see significant revenue in sponsorships and third-party contracts, all of which enables Penn State Athletics to remain self-sustaining."

The project's first phase, costing $70 million, involves maintenance and winterization work that will begin soon and should be completed over the next year. University officials said the winterization will enable Penn State to host a College Football Playoff game as soon as 2024.