Penn State's Beaver Stadium Will Be 'Ready to Go' for Possible College Football Playoff Game

Penn State Athletic Director Patrick Kraft discusses Beaver Stadium investment: "There is no other option."

Penn State's Beaver Stadium is under construction ahead of the Nittany Lions' 2024 football season. / Mark Wogenrich/AllPennState

Construction is moving quickly at Penn State's Beaver Stadium, which will introduce wider concourses, new concession areas and upgraded video technology for the 2024 Penn State football season. As important, Penn State Athletic Director Patrick Kraft said Beaver Stadium will be ready to host a potential College Football Playoff game in December.

"We're good to go," Kraft told reporters in Indianapolis at Big Ten Football Media Days. "... We'll be ready to go."

Penn State began the $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium this year by addressing critical issues for hosting a playoff game. That included winterizing the stadium so pipes don't freeze and other maintenance work. Kraft called the projects essential for fan safety and comfort as well as for hosting a playoff game. For instance, Kraft said that some fans found rust falling on their food from aging stadium pipes.

"There is no other option. We have to fix critical care issues in that building," Kraft said. "It's just the reality. Money was pulled back from deferred maintenance on that building for a decade."

Kraft didn't have a firm timeline for escalators, expanded concessions and the super ribbon board to be operational this season but said that, "for the most part, everything will be up and running." Penn State recently released a series of renderings highlighting the stadium work.

"I love Beaver Stadium," Kraft said. "To keep Beaver Stadium [as] Beaver Stadium, we have to invest in it."

Two Penn State trustees recently questioned the planned $700 million budget for the Beaver Stadium renovation, which the university's Board of Trustees approved by a 26-2 vote in May. Kraft said he understood the concern but cited Beaver Stadium's need for both upgrades and new revenue streams to help pay for them.

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For instance, Kraft said he took trustees on a spring Beaver Stadium tour to provide perspective of the 64-year-old venue's needs. Kraft noted that Beaver Stadium has one kitchen servicing concessions for fans in general seating and suites. Most trustees visited the Beaver Stadium press box for the first time and were surprised at its condition.

During the May meeting, one trustee said that she was "embarrassed" at Beaver Stadium's condition, calling it "weathered and worn." Simply replacing the press box would cost $100 million, Kraft said.

"Where do you find revenue for that?" Kraft asked. "... We need the revenue to come off that building to pay for the renovation. We don’t have enough premium [seating options]. We actually lost a big, big, big event because we didn’t have premium. That has to be a part of it.

"... It's also expensive to build in Happy Valley. Just saying. It wasn't like we just threw a dart and said, 'Hey, this is what it is.' That's what it costs to do what we need to do to get the building up healthy and alive again, and then to fix a lot of the other issues. And then when you do that, you have to pay for it. The West side premium is going to help us pay for it."

Kraft added that Populous, the architectural firm overseeing the renovation, continues on design plans, and Penn State is not ready to release those renderings. "We're just not ready to get out there with what it’s going to look like because it’s not there yet," Kraft said. "But it’s coming."

Watch Kraft's full media session at Big Ten Football Media Days courtesy Blue-White Illustrated.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.