Penn State University has decided to renovate rather than replace Beaver Stadium, the storied home of the Nittany Lions football program for more than six decades and one of the most prominent venues in college athletics.

“After significant consultation and research, the university has decided that rather than build new we would renovate our iconic Beaver Stadium,” Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi told the university’s board of trustees Friday afternoon.

“In moving forward with this renovation decision, I want to remind everybody that anything that Penn State athletics does is self-sustaining and always has been,” she said. “So no tuition, no student fees, none of the educational budget funds will be used for this project, and certainly we hope to count on our dedicated and loyal fans to pitch in with philanthropy to help us make this a reality.”

The president spoke at a meeting where earlier the board honored Penn State’s football team, head coach James Franklin and others involved in the Rose Bowl win on Jan. 2 over the University of Utah. Trustees also approved a $7.5 million upgrade to Holuba Hall and Lasch practice fields and set room and board rates for the 2023-24 academic year.

Beaver Stadium stands at the corner of Porter Road and Park Avenue. It dates to 1960, Bendapudi noted in a statement.

Previously, Beaver Field had been at two separate locations. In 1909, Penn State built a new Beaver Field after outgrowing its original 500-seat football arena built in 1893 behind Osmond Laboratory. The newer field, with a peak capacity of 30,000, closed in 1959.

Beaver Stadium has a capacity of nearly 107,000. It is the venue where the late football coach Joe Paterno walked the sidelines for nearly 50 years and where generations of players competed, many of them on their way to NFL careers.

In explaining the decision Friday, Bendapudi said renovation is “far more economical than a new build.”

Officials confirmed that the renovation also opens up the stadium for additional use beyond home football game days, including concerts, other performances and different sports.

“Penn State has some of the most dedicated and loyal fans in the world, and they deserve a facility that has upgraded amenities and improved circulation around the facility to enhance the fan experience,” she said. “It is my commitment that we will do what we must to preserve one of our most iconic spaces in the most economical way possible.”

Projected costs for the project are not yet available, Bendapudi said.

“I know there is a lot of interest in this project, and we are at the beginning of a multi-year journey, which still must include proposal review and approval by the board of trustees. Athletics also will need to put the project out for bid,” she said.

Penn State athletics reported that its Big Ten football program had an operating profit of $48 million in 2021-22, with revenues of $105.6 million against expenses of $57.6 million.

The current home of Penn State football. a landmark rising above the Central Pennsylvania campus, has evolved.

After the 1959 season, New Beaver Field was dismantled into 700 pieces, according to the university. It was transported a mile-and-a-half to its present location, where it was reassembled beneath a new superstructure. It was called Beaver Stadium, in tribute to James A. Beaver, a prominent figure in Penn State history.

According to Penn State, he was a former governor of Pennsylvania, university board president and acting president of Penn State from 1906 to 1908. Beaver Stadium initially had 46,284 seats.

Since then, multiple renovations have occurred, including in 2001. That’s when 60 skyboxes were added in a three-level structure above the East stands, according to the university.

With a 106,572 capacity, Beaver Stadium is the nation’s second largest FBS football stadium, behind only the University of Michigan’s Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., which holds 107,601 spectators.

Others among the five largest are Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) 102,780; Texas A&M’s Kyle Field (College Station, Texas) 102,733; and LSU’s Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge, La.) with a capacity of 102,321.

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