Penn State Receives $1 Million Anonymous Donation for Beaver Stadium

Penn State has announced more than $66 million in donations for the Beaver Stadium renovation.

A rendering of the proposed renovation of Penn State's Beaver Stadium, which is scheduled for completion in 2027. / Courtesy Penn State Athletics

Penn State announced its latest donation for the planned $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium that pushes the fundraising effort over $66 million. Penn State said Monday that an anonymous donor has contributed $1 million to the expansive renovation project that will begin following Penn State's final home game of the 2024 season.

According to Penn State, the anonymous donors previously have provided financial support to the athletics department, the Smeal College of Business and THON.

“We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary generosity of an anonymous donor family whose $1 million gift will have a lasting impact on the Beaver Stadium Revitalization project,” Penn State Athletic Director Patrick Kraft said in a statement. "This gift and the others we have received to date are a powerful testament to the broad support for our community and the exciting future ahead for our stadium.”

Penn State has announced more than $66 million in donations this fall, including several that offer naming rights to various aspects of Beaver Stadium. The new Welcome Center will be named for former trustee Ira Lubert, who donated $10 million, and the West Tower will be named for Anthony Misitano, whose initial $25 million donation kicked off the Beaver Stadium capital campaign.

A $5 million donation from Frank and Jennifer Marzano will help create the Marzano Club, one of the new suite spaces that will be constructed as part of Beaver Stadium's West side renovation. Penn State said that the club will be a "hub of campus and community activities on non-game days" and "one of the premier event spaces in all of Pennsylvania."

Penn State plans to begin the first stage of work on Beaver Stadium soon after the final home game of the season. The Nittany Lions close the regular season Saturday at Beaver Stadium against Maryland. If they win, the Nittany Lions likely will play a first-round home game in the College Football Playoff at Beaver Stadium on Dec. 20 or 21.

In the first round of work, Penn State plans to demolish much of the stadium's West side, including the press box, to recreate that part of the venue. The Beaver Stadium renovation will add about 47,000 square feet of event space to the facility, with the Welcome Center serving as a key feature. The venue, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi has said, will create a "front-door experience" for the university and act as an introductory space for new and prospective students. Penn State said that the Welcome Center will play a role in the admissions process and also will expand Beaver Stadium's abiltiy to host year-round events. The project is scheduled to be completed before the 2027 Penn State football season.

"There is a need, when prospective student athletes come to campus, to have a central location, and so that will be built into the stadium," Kraft said in a May interview. "... It will be a beautiful facility for our admissions team to welcome prospective students. We also will have a club level that will be used for event space, which we desperately need in athletics, and I know that community needs more spaces that can hold large-scale events. We really want to make sure that we provide an opportunity to use the building far more than what we're using it right now."

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