In 1985, walkways were added around the tops of the end zones and entry ramps at the stadium's corners resulted in lowering the capacity to 83,370. In 1980, maximum capacity increased to 83,770. This expansion is particularly noticeable, as there’s a distinct color change when crossing from the original, New Beaver Field steel grandstands onto the newer, stone and concrete additions. In 1978, 16,000 seats were added when the stadium was cut into sections and raised on hydraulic lifts, allowing the insertion of seating along the inner ring of the stadium where the track had previously been located, raising capacity to 76,639. Another expansion in 1976 increased capacity to 60,203. Expansions in 1972 brought capacity to 57,538. The stadium has been expanded six times, reflecting Penn State's rise to national prominence under Joe Paterno-more than doubling in size in the process. Expansions Endzone Club and Upper Concourse expansion, Summer 2001. It served as Penn State's stadium until 1960, when the entire 30,000 seat stadium was dismantled and moved to the east end of campus, reassembled and expanded to 46,284 seats-the lower half of the current facility-and dubbed Beaver Stadium. In 1909, New Beaver Field opened just northeast of Rec Hall, roughly in the current location of the Nittany Parking deck. Beaver Field, a 500-seat structure located behind the current site of the Osmond Building, was the first permanent home for Penn State's football team, and the first game played there was a Penn State victory over Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh) on November 6, 1893. Until 1893, Penn State teams participated in sporting events on Old Main lawn, a large grassy area in front of the primary classroom building of the time. īeaver Stadium was the first to have its interior included in Google Street View. In the championship match-up, Beaver Stadium beat Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse to claim the title of Ultimate Stadium. Hundreds of thousands of fans voted for their favorites throughout the week. In March 2019, USA Today conducted another poll asking voters to decide the best stadium in the United States during 'Bracket Madness', which coincided with the 2019 NCAA basketball tournament. In 2016, Beaver Stadium was voted the number-one football stadium in college football in a USA Today poll, garnering over 41 percent of the vote. In 2019, it was named student section of the year by a committee of ESPN broadcasters and writers. In 2008, it was recognized as having the best student section in the country for the second consecutive year. Its natural grass playing field is aligned northwest to southeast at an approximate elevation of 1,150 feet (350 m) above sea level.īeaver Stadium is widely known as one of the toughest venues for opposing teams in collegiate athletics. Officially, the stadium is part of the municipality known as College Township, Pennsylvania, although it has a University Park address.īeaver Stadium has an official seating capacity of 106,572, making it currently the second largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth largest in the world. Beaver (1837–1914), a governor of Pennsylvania (1887–91), president of the university's board of trustees, and native of nearby Millerstown. The stadium, as well as its predecessors, is named after James A. It was also the site of university commencements until 1984.

It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909.

1969, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1985, 1991, 2001, 2011īeaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in Penn State University Park.

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