page_title: Beaver Stadium
section_title: Expansions
hierarchical_section_title: Beaver Stadium / History / Expansions
caption_attribution_description: Description: Photograph of the luxury suites along the east side of Beaver Stadium on the University Park campus of Penn State University during a home football game, after the addition of lettering featuring the years of the Nittany Lions' undefeated, national championship and en:Bowl Championship Series bowl game seasons. Source: Taken by PSUMark2006 Date: Photo dated from 30 September 2006 Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
context_page_description: Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. 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. It was also the site of university commencements until 1984. The stadium, as well as its predecessors, is named after James A. Beaver who was a former governor of Pennsylvania, president of the university's board of trustees, and native of nearby Millerstown, Pennsylvania.
  Beaver 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 Stadium is widely known as one of the toughest venues for opposing teams in collegiate athletics. In 2008, Beaver Stadium was recognized as having the best student section in the country for the second consecutive year.
  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.
context_section_description: 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 in 1972 brought capacity to 57,538. Another expansion in 1976 increased capacity to 60,203. 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. In 1980, maximum capacity increased to 83,770. 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. An expansion was completed for the 1991 football season, placing an upper deck addition over the north end zone and raising capacity to 93,967.
  A major and somewhat controversial construction project took place in 2001, raising the stadium's total capacity to 107,282. An upper deck was added to the south end of the stadium, blocking the view of neighboring Nittany Mountain (which had sentimental value for some fans), but making Beaver Stadium the second largest stadium in the nation, behind Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, MI.
  In 2006, the stadium underwent major structural and aesthetic upgrades. Old steel beams supporting the upper seats in the east, north and west were replaced and strengthened, and new railing was installed, stronger than the old railing which collapsed following the 2005 Ohio State game.
  In 2007, over 22,000 student tickets sold out in 59 minutes. In 2008, when tickets were sold by grade, tickets allotted for junior students sold out in 90 seconds, and those for sophomores and freshmen sold out in under three minutes each.
  In 2011, the stadium capacity was reduced from 107,282 seats to 106,572 to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  The appearance of the stadium has been enhanced with the addition of large blue letters spelling out "The Pennsylvania State University" on the west-facing suites, and a list of Penn State's undefeated, national championship, and Big Ten championship years underneath. 2012 is the exception, which was added to this list during the November 24, 2012 game against Wisconsin to honor the team that played after sanctions were passed down during the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. On the opposite side of the stadium, letters spelling, "Penn State Nittany Lions" have been added to the press box, with "Beaver Stadium" running below. Nine markers depicting the various traditions of Beaver Stadium, including the Blue Band, the student section, and the blue buses which bring the team to the stadium, have been placed around the stadium as well. In late October, the walls surrounding the field were refaced with Pennsylvania limestone. An iron gate has replaced the old chain-link face at the players' entrance into the stadium. On the new gate the words "PENN STATE" appear in blue.
  The Penn State Office of Physical Plant and Athletic Department expanded then north and south video boards to make them HD and because parts were no longer available for the old boards. The area of the new video screens dedicated to game replays and game-related video is much larger than the screens they replaced.  The two video boards together are some of the largest in college football.  The renovation expanded the size of the video boards by eliminating the current game clock and lamp matrix display. The boards are only the second of their kind made and are 4k UHD. The project was completed prior to the first home game of the 2014 season. The boards cost approx. $10 million. Also on the back of both boards is a nittany lion logo that lights at night and was added to promote the "Penn State Brand". Starting with the 2015 season fireworks are shot off from the top of each scoreboard when the team takes the field.
  In the fall semester of 2015, university officials stated that they are seeking options to renovate or replace Beaver Stadium in the next 10 years. Officials state that there is a recognized need
caption: A view of the lettering and years added to the suites in 2006. Each year is a significant Penn State season
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