Beaver Stadium
Beaver Stadium is located on the campus of
Pennsylvania State University and is home to their
college football team, the
Nittany Lions. Named for
James A. Beaver, a former
governor of
Pennsylvania and president of the University's board of trustees, the stadium currently has a
capacity of 107,282, making it the second largest stadium in the
United States, smaller than
Michigan Stadium by only 219 seats.
Predecessors
|
The inside of Beaver Stadium |
Until
1893, Penn State teams participated in sporting events on
Old Main lawn, a large grassy area in front of the primary classroom building of the time. 500-seat Beaver Field was the first permanent home for Penn State's football team, and the first game played there was a Penn State victory over Western University of Pittsburgh (now the
University of Pittsburgh) on
November 6,
1893. In
1909, New Beaver Field opened, and served as Penn State's stadium until the
1959 season, when the entire 30,000 seat stadium was dismantled and moved to the east end of campus, reassembled and expanded, and dubbed Beaver Stadium.
Expansions
|
View of the inside of Beaver Stadium from the Student Section. |
In
1960, Beaver Stadium had a capacity of 46,284, and expansions in
1969,
1974 and
1976 increased that 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. In
1980, maximum capacity increased to 83,770. An expansion was completed for the
1991 football season, placing an upper deck addition over the north
end zone and raising capacity to over 90,000.
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
Mount Nittany (which had sentimental value for some fans), but making Beaver Stadium the second largest stadium in the United States, only behind
Michigan Stadium, which holds 107,501, and is being expanded to 108,251 before the 2007 season.
[[Image:BeaverStaduim10082005.JPG|right|thumb|250px|{{Penn State}} Fans watch the {{Nittany Lions}} face the {{Ohio State}} Buckeyes in the second largest attended game in Beaver Stadium history with an attendance of 109,839 people.
{{Category:Big Ten Football}}{{Category:College football venues}}{{Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football}}{{Category:Sports venues in Pennsylvania}}
{{es:Beaver Stadium}}
