Fans react to Beaver Stadium renovations in person at Blue-White Game
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WTAJ) — Fans got a look at the new and upcoming Beaver Stadium while attending the annual Blue-White Game Saturday.
The athletic department has entered into a multi-year project to revitalize the stadium after the football team's win in its lone home game in its run in the College Football Playoff. In December, the athletic department started the project by tearing down the press box and the upper section of the west side bleachers.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Penn State unveils Beaver Stadium renovation plans, upgrades
The fans have not attended an event at the stadium since Penn State's game against the SMU Mustangs. Returning to Beaver Stadium to see the makeover brought mixed reactions from fans, students and alumni.
'Being an alumnus or being a student here was disheartening, going out on a stroll up to Beaver Stadium to see construction and the side of the stadium gone,' Mia Rayman, a Penn State alumna, said.
'It's hard to see the stadium that you've always known in kind of the condition it's in right now,' season ticket holder Jennifer Switzler said.
While some feel the nostalgic feeling drifting away, others are more optimistic, even if their seats were taken out due to the demolition, like the Reidmiller family.
'It's kind of cool to see the progress that they made over the last couple of months,' Chase Reidmiller, an incoming freshman at Penn State University, said.
'I'm definitely looking forward to going in there and seeing what kind of progress it has made so far,' Penn State senior Alex Schaaf said.
The press box demolition on the west side is one phase of a multi-phase plan over the next couple of years, with an end date before the 2027 season. Some fans have added their two cents to upgrades around the concourse.
'There are a couple of challenges,' Rayman said. 'Just traffic, and then of course, they can build the cell tower a little bit of a wider range.'
The fans do see the steps the athletic department is making to match up to similar opponents in the sport, in part with the ever-growing landscape of college athletics.
'The team's going to other stadiums that have this, so I think it's great for the team, and I think it's great for the visiting team,' Switzler said. 'Overall, I think they're taking care of the student athletes.'
'It's going to help improve the fan experience a lot,' Reidmiller said. 'I'm just kind of excited for it going into my next couple of years of college and stuff.'
Once the fans leave the Blue-White Game, they will see more additions to the stadium. The west side of the stadium will add 7,900 temporary seats for the 2025 season.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
Carl Nassib, NFL's 1st openly gay active player and West Chester native, has jersey added to Smithsonian
The jersey of West Chester native Carl Nassib is now on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, honoring his achievement as the first openly gay player to appear in an NFL regular-season game. The Malvern Prep alum made the announcement while appearing on The Pivot Podcast, hosted by former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder on May 6. The jersey on display is Nassib's No. 94 Las Vegas Raiders jersey from the team's 2021 season opener against the Baltimore Ravens — the first game he played after publicly coming out as gay in a social media post in June 2021. In that game, he made a critical strip sack on Lamar Jackson in overtime that helped lead the Raiders to a 33-27 victory. The jersey has been on display since May 21. "They reached out to me last year and said they wanted to add it to the collection. I said, absolutely. This is huge," Nassib said on the podcast. "I love museums. I love history. I love football. I love the gays." During the podcast, Nassib credited his late uncle, who was also gay and passed away from cancer, for inspiring him to share his truth. "When I came out to him, he said, 'This is the biggest weight off my chest. I'm not the only one,'" Nassib recalled. "That really charged me. I felt like I had to do this." Nassib walked on to Penn State's football team in 2011 but it wasn't until his last two years at Happy Valley that he started rewriting the Nittany Lions record books. In 2015, he set the Penn State single-season sack record with 15.5 sacks, was named a unanimous All-American, and received both the Lombardi Award and Nagurski-Woodson Award as the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. Nassib played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Las Vegas Raiders before retiring in 2023. During the podcast, Nassib also shared that he grew up an Eagles fan and is a big Taylor Swift fan.
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
FanDuel posts betting odds to reach CFP; MSU not as much of long shot as you may think
FanDuel posts betting odds to reach CFP; MSU not as much of long shot as you may think Michigan State's odds to reach the College Football Playoff this year aren't as long as you may think. FanDuel has recently released betting odds for teams to make the College Football Playoff this upcoming season. The Spartans are in the bottom half of the Big Ten in odds compared to the rest of the league, but the actual odds are higher than I personally expected. Michigan State opened at +1800 to reach the College Football Playoff next season. I couldn't dig up last year's preseason odds for Indiana to reach the College Football Playoff but I can promise you they were longer odds than the current ones posted for Michigan State this year. Among Big Ten teams, Michigan State ranked as No. 11 for best odds to reach the College Football Playoff. Washington was right ahead of the Spartans, but by a considerable margin at +980. Right behind Michigan State was Rutgers and UCLA at +2500 and Wisconsin at +3000. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Michigan State could be this year's Indiana and these odds only raise my thinking behind that being a possibility. I'm still not signing up for that as a likely endgame for the Spartans this fall, but these odds are at least worth considering as a long shot bet if you're into that kind of thing. Check out each Big Ten team's odds of reaching the College Football Playoff this fall in the graphic below -- courtesy of The Big Ten Huddle: Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Special Olympics Pennsylvania summer games set to kickoff in State College
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — The 55th annual Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games are getting set to kick off in State College. Over 2,000 athletes and 750 coaches will travel to Penn State for three days of competition in athletics, equestrian, basketball, golf, gymnastics, softball, swimming, and tennis. This is a weekend to compete, have fun, and build lifelong friendships. 'Memories, building friendships, remembering how hard they've worked, what they've overcome, the challenges, and having the courage to show up and give their best,' Chief People Officer & Executive Vice President of Operations for Special Olympics Pennsylvania, Pam Velasquez, said. While all of the focus is on the athletes competing, behind the scenes, over 1,000 volunteers will be assisting over the three days. However, they say they could use a few hundred more. 'Our volunteers are the backbone of everything we do. We still have open spots available over the next few days. So please come out and join us. There are many ways to be involved,' Velasquez said. One couple has been volunteering with Special Olympics for over 20 years. Robert & Christine Masters began volunteering when their son was 8-years-old. They volunteer because of the energy, excitement, and fun they have during the event. 'It doesn't matter how good or bad a day you're having, if you come down here and you hang out with these athletes for any length of time, you will be having a great day when you leave, and so that's why it's worth coming back,' Robert Masters said. The hard work the Masters see during the weekend is inspiring. 'I think every day when I work with Special Olympics athletes, the kind of hurdles they have to overcome just to get out of bed in the morning and to get here more so than anything I experience, it just makes the rest of the things I might be worried about melt away and I just enjoy spending time with them, their smiles really are the best thing,' Christine Masters said. The games are set to kick off with an opening ceremony on Thursday, June 5, at 7:15 p.m. For a full schedule, follow the link here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
