It’s the second largest college stadium in the nation, third largest in the world. It seats almost 107k people. It’s the home of our Nittany Lio
ns. And on home game days, it and its surroundings become the third largest city in the state. It’s Beaver Stadium.
Beaver Stadium is one of my favorite places on campus. There is just something about being with thousands and thousands of people all cheering for the same great team. Upon arriving at Penn State football wasn’t high on my list of favorite things; it wasn’t low, but it wasn’t my number one. However, after my first home game in Beaver Stadium I was hooked. And Beaver Stadium soon became my home on Saturdays.
However, Beaver Stadium wasn’t always Beaver Stadium. It wasn’t always the dominate part of the east side of campus. Before Beaver Stadium even existed, our sports teams took to playing on the lawn in front of Old Main (then the main building on campus). It wasn’t until 1893 that the teams had an actual field to play on. Beaver Field was located just behind the Osmond Building and had seats for 500 people.
While Beaver Field only sat 500 people at the time, it wasn’t a huge deal. At that time State College’s population was 851 and the student population was only 433. Penn State football in 1900 wasn’t a lifestyle like it is today.
When Joe Paterno became the assistant coach in 1950, the town’s population had grown to 11,132 and the student enrollment reached 17,277. With this rise in population, a new field had to be created. The new field had room for 30,000 people. However, that wasn’t enough.
Just ten years later our lovely Beaver Stadium developed on the east side of campus. Now, in it’s first days it only had capacity for 46,284. Penn State football started to take off. More and more people traveled to our lovely Happy Valley to watch the games.
And as JoePa lead our Nittany Lions to victory after victory, the popularity of Penn State football only grew. On football Saturday’s, State College becomes the third largest city in the state behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. While the stadium grew and grew under the watch of JoePa, it wasn’t until 2001 that it got to 107,282. In the span of 101 years, Beaver Stadium grew by about 106,000 seats.
On September 14, 2002 when Penn State took on Nebraska for a 40-7 win, crowds were record breaking. Beaver Stadium held 110,753 people that day. However, the stadium wasn’t completely up to Americans with Disabilities Act regulations and had to undergo some renovations in 2011. Seats had to be take out and modified, leaving Beaver Stadium at 106,572.
While we lost some seats, Beaver Stadium still remains a Penn State favorite. In Onward State’s “Best Penn State Thing Bracket” it made it to the final four. It was up against JoePa, the Nittany Lion, and THON. It won over the Berkey Creamery, the Lion Shrine, and Old Main. However, it’s winning streak fell there, losing to JoePa.
Beaver Stadium will always give me chills. Whether it be the greatness that comes from Whiteouts and Stripeouts or when they play the opening football video before games. Or, especially, when coming up the 322 heading West and seeing the stadium sitting on top of the hill looking very majestic. It will always be one of, if not the one, my favorite places on campus.
Sources
http://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/the-10-largest-college-football-stadiums/527/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Stadium
http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/2011/11/a-town-and-university-growing-with-penn-state-football.html
http://www.gopsusports.com/facilities/beaver-stadium.html
http://onwardstate.com/2016/03/29/the-best-penn-state-thing-bracket-elite-8/
http://onwardstate.com/2016/04/05/best-penn-state-thing-bracket-final-four/
http://onwardstate.com/2016/04/12/the-best-penn-state-thing-bracket-the-championship/
Abby says
I’m just picturing the current football team attempting to play in front of Old Main or behind Osmond nowadays. Though, both locations are closer to where I live, I definitely prefer Beaver Stadium.
Sylvia Joy says
So the “largest stadium” title is qualified by “largest college stadium…” I wonder how it ranks with stadiums in general…
pnz5007 says
Really liked this post! I thought how you included the Onward State Bracket of the best Penn State things was cool. Although nothing can beat JoePa, I definitely think Beaver Stadium is one of the best parts of Penn State.
Pragnya Prabakaran says
It’s crazy to think about how big the Beaver Stadium has grown despite its humble beginnings. It makes me proud of being a Penn State student to see how far we have come. It’s great how a stadium this big can make everyone there feel so united with one another. I didn’t know much about the history behind Beaver Stadium before this post, so thanks for sharing!
Joe Wong says
The first picture i ever took at Penn State was of Beaver Stadium when i visited for orientation. I remember seeing how huge it was standing right next to it. It immediately made me like Penn State and I remember on the car ride home, imagining going there for football games and how fun it’d be. Overall, it was interesting to see how it changed over time.
Lawrence Green says
I completely agree. There is something special about Beaver Stadium that just bleeds school pride. Whenever I’m in the stadium I feel so proud to be a Penn State student and I feel the community around me. Even when standing on the benches I get to talking with other students and make a few friends. It’s just a great time to be in a place where everyone is cheering for the same team and has no cares in the world aside from football. Great post!
Sean Saltzgaber says
Being an non-Pennsylvanian, I have to agree about the immediate allure of Beaver Stadium. It took me by complete surprise and I have absolutely loved it ever since I came here in August.