Penn State AD Pat Kraft details decision on Beaver Stadium renovation plan, next steps
The process of beginning a major rehabilitation and renovation project for Beaver Stadium is underway. Pat Kraft, Penn State athletic director, ensured as much with an initial presentation to the university’s Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business, and Capital Planning on Thursday afternoon.
Laid out as a $70 million initial request for design, consulting, permits, and immediate winterization, the broader scope of the project was detailed. Plans are to completely renovate the west side of the stadium while improving amenities throughout the facility. Those would include spectator circulation, restrooms, concessions, premium seating, field lighting, and more.
The first formal step to convert years of studies into action, Kraft met with Blue White Illustrated after the presentation to address the direction decided upon with a renovation.
“I don’t think we need a new stadium,” Kraft said. “I think preserving Beaver Stadium was a really important part of it. Just because it means so much.”
Meeting in Penn State’s new Engineering Design and Innovation Building on West Campus, the presentation also included proposals for Jeffrey Field renovations, an indoor practice bubble, East Area Locker Room renovations, and another $22m round of renovations to the Lasch Building’s second-floor office space.
Pleased by the unanimous approvals of the committee for each of the projects, sending all to the full board for votes in Friday’s public session, Kraft said he was “excited about the projects and getting going.”
Next steps for Penn State
Nearing the end of his first full year in the AD’s chair, Kraft’s enthusiasm and optimism are founded in a vast collection of needs facing the Nittany Lion athletic department. None are more sizable than the future of the 63-year-old Beaver Stadium.
Pending the full board approval of the $70m request, the project will transition into a design phase previously not embarked upon. Getting to that point required a deep dive into three primary avenues that emerged for Beaver Stadium’s future.
According to Kraft, the biggest study showed that a new build for a stadium would cost approximately $1.5 billion. A complete stadium renovation was estimated at $1.2 billion. Ultimately landing on a more focused renovation that is expected to climb to as much as $700 million, Kraft outlined the process that went into that decision.
“We were able to use all the studies to bring it together and then get to where we thought was the most effective way to attack it,” he said. “We dove into the weeds on these studies. And there were things that were not necessary. So that’s just kind of how we value-engineer what you think about what’s necessary and not necessary.
“It’s also what you can afford. It’s good. We’re excited.”
Two interest points
Within the short presentation to the committee, two elements of the project took shape in addition to its scope.
The first included a commitment from Kraft to keep the capacity of Beaver Stadium at more than 100,000 moving forward. Specifically asked by board members about capacity, Kraft expanded on the topic and its importance after the meeting.
“That’s who we are. I love it. I get goosebumps now you asking me that question. That’s part of our identity. And I think what we’re doing in season tickets even shows why you do that. I think we’ll maybe get over 93,000 season tickets,” Kraft said. “Beaver Stadium is more than just a football stadium. I think it’s such an important part of the community, what it means to everybody when you come in from the airport to see it. I just think as many people as we can get in that building, we’re gonna get them in there, no matter how we do it.”
The second, for a project that is just reaching its architecture and engineering phase, was the element of a timeline.
Penn State has invited the top 10 design firms in the stadium space to submit proposals. A top three will be selected for review, leading to a choice of a designer to begin the process. That is expected to take place over the next 15 months leading into a June 2024 “pre-construction” date.
Parlaying that timeline into a construction start goal of January 2025 and construction completion of August 2027 for the project, Kraft refocused the conversation on the first steps ahead while keeping an eye on costs that are only expected to climb further.
“If we hit all our marks right now, if we keep moving, August 2027. From a cost perspective, the longer you wait, we’re seeing such an escalation in costs. So we wanted to get it done as quick as we can,” Kraft said. “But, we feel good that that’s a standard kind of timeline. If this gets passed by the full board tomorrow, we can get to work on those issues, which are really important.
“But, you got to design it. You got to know what we’re going to do. And so we’re really excited about that phase.”
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