LANGHORNE – Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour knows all too well that Beaver Stadium is something of a time capsule.
There are high definition HDTV screens on the very top of the venue and decades old bathrooms in the lowest corners of the very same building.
The press box is as old as the football program. The wi-fi system is always a challenge. These kinds of issues are far more apparent after visiting other stadiums across the nation.
While major renovations to Beaver Stadium aren’t in the works, Barbour addressed the issue on Tuesday, during the latest stop on the Coaches Caravan in Langhorne. She says the stadium is front and center in her facility master plan.
“It’s pretty clear to me that we need to put together a plan to address a whole lot of issues in Beaver Stadium,” Barbour said. “And obviously Beaver Stadium is a wonderful place and it’s historic and it’s a place where we gather 107,000 strong on Saturday afternoons. But whether it be for working aspects of what we do on Saturday afternoon like the press box or if it be fan amenities and the fan experience, there’s lots that we need to address. You know about the master plan for facilities that we are undertaking, and Beaver Stadium would be a big, big portion of that.”
When asked to define more established goals Barbour, perhaps predictably — avoided any bold plans for the future. The conversation at this point hasn’t passed the stages of establishing that the stadium can be improved. Prioritizing needs and acting on months of planning is still a work in progress.
“I think that they run the gamut from wi-fi to concession stands and concession offerings,” Barbour said. “Because of the infrastructure status of our concessions stands it limits our offerings on the concourses, things like actual seating. I’m not talking about Beaver Stadium and doing something specific but the kinds of things we would like to be able to offer our fans are the kinds of things we will look at and how we can incorporate those things into Beaver Stadium.”
In the even bigger scope, Barbour continued to push forward the idea that Penn State facilities can be used for events and opportunities that go beyond Penn State athletic events. Most popular of all, the idea of hockey in Beaver Stadium, a dream unlikely to be dropped by fans in the foreseeable future. For Barbour, improvements to Beaver Stadium can focus on some of these bigger picture items as well.
“I think that I’ve been pretty upfront and pretty open that one of our goals will be to better utilize our physical assets of which obviously Beaver Stadium is a huge part,” Barbour added. “So as we look at our capabilities of our facilities, certainly to the degree that it is cost effective, we’ll look to make sure that our facilities have the abilities to do some things like other events, non-Penn State varsity athletics events.”
Beaver Stadium is already undergoing some of these changes. The press box is getting new windows, carpeting and some paint as well as elevator upgrades.
Those are minor changes to many (admittedly not to this particular author), but with Beaver Stadium dead center in the sights of improvement plans, sooner or later those minor changes could equal a big change in the game day experience.
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