Why Penn State plans to renovate or replace Beaver Stadium

STATE COLLEGE - Ever since it was disassembled in 1960 and relocated to an eastern edge of Penn State's campus, Beaver Stadium, like some '57 Chevy in Cuba, has been repaired, patched and, where possible, upgraded.

But after 56 years, Happy Valley's most iconic structure is rusting, sputtering and due either for a major overhaul or replacement.

"When you stand on the Beaver Stadium field at kickoff and there are 107,000 fans in the stands, there's not a better place in college football," said Phil Esten, Penn State's deputy director of athletics. "But if you go grab a hot dog or go to the restroom, you start to see the warts."

Its restrooms and concession stands are outdated and often over-run. It needs more high-end seating and amenities, upgraded technology, a new press box and, most importantly, ways to generate revenue beyond the seven football games it annually hosts.

Now university officials, confronted by the unyielding financial demands of college sports and a sentimental fan base, must perform a delicate dance - the reimagining of the historic and beloved venue.

Beaver Stadium's future lies at the heart of an ongoing study into Penn State's athletic infrastructure. A facilities master plan, due to be completed by July, will suggest and prioritize improvements, not just to football's 107,000-seat home but to 18 other Nittany Lions sports venues and the entire student-athlete support system.

"The world of intercollegiate athletics is moving very quickly," said athletic director Sandy Barbour, "and we need to get up to speed."

A team from the Kansas City sports-design firm, Populous, is developing the plan. However detailed it ends up, the football stadium, with its enormous revenue-generating potential, will be its centerpiece.

Barbour and Esten favor renovation over replacement, a sentiment shared by most here. But either way, that project and the other facility improvements the plan is expected to highlight won't come cheap.

"I wake up at 3 and 4 in the morning imagining what that number might be," Barbour said. "It's way bigger than any of us want it to be."

Texas A&M recently spent $450 million to modernize and expand Kyle Field. A $400 million project is under way to add more luxury seating and affix three new structures to Notre Dame's stadium.

In the unlikely event a new stadium is the choice, administrators can look to Baylor, where one with a $255 million price tag and only half Penn State's capacity opened in 2014.

Some fear the fund-raising necessary to pay for the plan might be more problematic now that the bedrock football program, historically an ATM for Penn State's 30 other sports, is experiencing tremors.

James Franklin's Nittany Lions went 7-6 for a second straight season in 2015, losing their final four games. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg has sacrificed his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. Five teammates transferred. Offensive coordinator John Donovan was fired in November. And, within 48 hours earlier this month, defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and offensive line coach Herb Hand left for jobs elsewhere.

Franklin conceded the turmoil has allowed other schools to take advantage in recruiting. There also are concerns that attendance and athletic contributions, both of which had rebounded after post-Sandusky scandal declines, could also be negatively impacted.

"Probably the most challenging situation for a football coach is to explain to people kind of where we truly are, but also get people excited about the program," Franklin said. "That's a very delicate balance."

If potential donors were soured by the mediocre seasons and defections, the scope of any facilities upgrade will be limited.

"In my experience people give to people," said Esten, who, as chief fund-raiser, oversaw Minnesota's construction of a new $303 million stadium, which also hosted Minnesota Vikings home games the last two seasons while their new stadium was being built.

"They're going to give if they feel inspired about a project or feel passionate about their alma mater. But if they don't trust the coach or feel great about the administration, that clearly makes it more challenging."

In any case, Penn State's self-sustaining athletic department, which already has an annual budget of $120 million-plus, will have to find more donors, more revenue, more cost-saving measures.

All financing options will be considered, though, as Esten noted, the school "will largely fund these projects" through philanthropy, traditional revenue streams and "other new and creative forms of financing."

Though Esten didn't get specific, creative financing could include selling corporate naming rights for Beaver Stadium, alcohol sales inside the facility, even some state funding.

Minnesota contributed $137 million to the UM stadium project. Such governmental largesse might prove more problematic here as Democrats and Republicans in Harrisburg continue to wrangle over a long-overdue state budget.

Besides, the budget Gov. Wolf proposed last March already included a $263.7 million state contribution to Penn State - a 23 percent increase from 2014.

PSU president Eric Barron has pledged that athletics will pay to implement the master plan without tapping into the general fund or adding student fees.

"This is one place where tuition dollars do not cross into athletics," Barron said. "We never want to change that."

That means Penn State's fund-raising efforts, already non-stop, will be ratcheted up.

This summer, just as the athletics master plan is revealed, Penn State will kick off a six-year, university-wide capital campaign. No dollar amount has been set but a similar eight-year drive that concluded in 2014 raised $2.2 billion.

Beyond Beaver Stadium, the plan likely will recommend technological upgrades to every venue, making them more compatible for Big Ten Network telecasts. That nine-year-old network contributed an estimated $40 million to every conference member in 2015.

Some PSU facilities, like hockey's Pegula Arena and baseball's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, are state-of-the-art and should require little improvement. Some programs like soccer, which plays on one side of campus while lockering on another, have adequate venues but subpar support systems. Aging facilities for sports like swimming and indoor tennis may need to be replaced.

How quickly each sport gets what it needs will, to a large extent, be determined by the study.

"This [master plan] isn't about a Mercedes for everybody," said Barron. "This is about prioritizing."

Ironically, as its signature football program struggles, Penn State's minor sports are thriving. Since 2007, Nittany Lions teams have won 17 national titles, more than any other school. Improved facilities would be a way to reward that success.

"We have some of the best programs in the country that are dealing with facilities less than adequate for competition," said Esten. "To some extent, we just can't operate without addressing some of their long-term needs."

In 2014, sales of tickets, programs and concessions, parking revenue, and licensing, advertising and sponsorship fees - the lion's share of which came from Beaver Stadium - totaled well over $50 million.

Administrators hope a reinvented stadium will generate considerably more by hosting concerts, trade-shows, banquets, NFL preseason games, even the NHL's Winter Classic.

And there are other ways it could make or save money for the university.

Notre Dame, for example, is benefitting its psychology and music departments by incorporating those classrooms and other related facilities into its stadium project. Maryland is including an entrepreneurial center. And California, where both Barbour and Esten worked, folded in business-innovation labs, law-school offices and a campus welcome center to its $321 million stadium renovation.

"It's becoming pretty common to integrate some of what's happening on campus with athletics," said Esten.

As at Texas A&M, any major stadium renovation likely would span several offseasons, minimizing the disruption to football. Should Penn State opt for a new stadium, likely twice as costly as any renovation, it almost certainly would be built adjacent to Beaver.

"But I'm pretty optimistic we're going to find a way to renovate," said Esten. "There's a lot of history there. There's a lot of nostalgia there - the tunnel, the locker room. There's a lot of victories on that field."

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