Beaver Stadium: Difference between revisions

| name = Beaver Stadium

| nickname = '' = "Happy Valley''"

| image = File:Beaver Stadium Aerial photo 2014Whiteout -2018 14337730799Pregame.jpg

| image_size = 250

| caption image_upright =

| built image_map =

| capacitymap_caption = 106,572 (2011–present)

| closed dimensions =

| demolishedfield_shape =

| owneracreage =

| operatorsurface = [[Pennsylvania StatePoaceae|Natural Universitygrass]]

| surfacescoreboard = [[Poaceae|Natural grass]]Yes

| former_namesproduction =

'''Beaver Stadium''' is an outdoor [[college football]] [[stadium]] on the campus of [[Pennsylvania State University]] in [[Penn State University Park, Pennsylvania]]. It&nbsp;has been home to the [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State Nittany Lions]] of the [[Big Ten Conference]] since [[1960 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|1960]], though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909. It was also the site of university [[Graduation|commencement]]s until 1984.<ref name=stadium>{{cite web |first=Geoff |last=Rushton |url=https://news.psu.edu/story/157346/2011/06/13/beaver-stadium-home-penn-state-football |title=Beaver Stadium: The Home of Penn State Football |website=Penn State News |date=September 12, 2011 |orig-year=June 13, 2011 |access-date=April 22, 2019 }}</ref> The stadium, as well as its [[New Beaver Field|predecessors]], is named after [[James A. Beaver]] (1837–1914), a [[List of governors of Pennsylvania|governor of Pennsylvania]] (1887–91), president of the university's board of trustees,<ref>{{cite news |first=Ron|last=Musselman|title=Why Is It Called Beaver Stadium?|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08260/912571-215.stm|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=September 16, 2008|access-date=September 17, 2008}}</ref> and native of nearby [[Millerstown, Pennsylvania|Millerstown]]. Officially, the stadium is part of the municipality known as [[College Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|College Township, Pennsylvania]], although it has a [[University Park, Pennsylvania|University Park]] address.

[[File:Beaver Stadium OUTSIDE.jpg|thumbnail|Endzone Club and Upper Concourse expansion, Summer 2001.]]

The stadium has been expanded six times, reflecting Penn State's rise to national prominence under [[Joe Paterno]]—more than doubling in size in the process. Expansions in 1972 brought capacity to 57,538. Another expansion in 1976 increased capacity 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, raising capacity to 76,639. This expansion is particularly noticeable, as there's a distinct color change when crossing from the original, New Beaver Field steel grandstands onto the newer, stone and concrete additions. In 1980, maximum capacity increased to 83,770. In 1985, walkways were added around the tops of the end zones and entry ramps at the stadium's corners resulted in lowering the capacity to 83,370. An expansion was completed for the 1991 football season, placing an upper deck addition over the north [[end zone]] and raising capacity to 93,967.

The appearance of the stadium has been enhanced with the addition of large blue letters spelling out "The Pennsylvania State University" on the west-facing suites, and a list of Penn State's undefeated, national championship, and Big Ten championship years underneath. 2012 is the exception, which was added to this list during the November 24, 2012 game against Wisconsin to honor the team that played after sanctions were passed down during the aftermath of the [[Jerry Sandusky scandal]]. On the opposite side of the stadium, letters spelling, "Penn State Nittany Lions" have been added to the press box, with "Beaver Stadium" running below. Nine markers depicting the various traditions of Beaver Stadium, including the [[Blue band|Blue Band]], the student section, and the blue buses which bring the team to the stadium, have been placed around the stadium as well. In late October, the walls surrounding the field were refaced with Pennsylvania [[limestone]]. An iron gate has replaced the old chain-link face at the players' entrance into the stadium. On the new gate the words "PENN STATE" appear in blue.

[[File:Beaver Stadium WhiteoutAerial 2018photo 2014 - Pregame14337730799.jpg|thumb|Beaver Stadium WhiteoutAerial 2018Photo - Pregame2014.]]

| 2 || 110,823856 || OctoberNovember 2111, 20172023 || '''Penn State 4215, ''', Michigan 1324'''

| 34 || 110,753823 || SeptemberOctober 1421, 20022017 || '''Penn State 4042''', NebraskaMichigan 713

| 45 || 110,669753 || OctoberSeptember 1914, 20192002 || '''Penn State 2840''', MichiganNebraska 217

| 56 || 110,134747 || OctoberSeptember 272, 20072023 || '''Penn State 17, 38'''Ohio, StateWest 37'''Virginia 15

| 67 || 110,078669 || SeptemberOctober 819, 20072019 || '''Penn State 3128''', NotreMichigan Dame 1021

| 78 || 110,033134 || NovemberOctober 727, 20092007 || Penn State 717, '''Ohio State 2437'''

| 89 || 110,017078 || OctoberSeptember 188, 20082007 || '''Penn State 4631''', MichiganNotre Dame 1710

| 910 || 110,007033 || OctoberNovember 147, 20062009 || Penn State 107, '''MichiganOhio State 1724'''

| 1011 || 109110,958017 || SeptemberOctober 18, 20212008 || '''Penn State 2846''', AuburnMichigan 2017

| 1112 || 109110,898007 || SeptemberOctober 914, 20172006 || '''Penn State 3310, ''',Michigan Pittsburgh 1417'''

| 1213 || 109,865958 || NovemberSeptember 518, 20052021 || '''Penn State 3528''', WisconsinAuburn 1420

| 1314 || 109,845898 || NovemberSeptember 229, 20082017 || '''Penn State 4933''', MichiganPittsburgh State 1814

| 1415 || 109,839865 || OctoberNovember 85, 2005 || '''Penn State 1735''', OhioWisconsin State 1014

[[File:PSU Senior Section.JPG|right|thumbnail|The "S-Zone", dressed to form the letter "S".]]

The "S-Zone" within the student section is another tradition at Beaver Stadium.<ref>{{cite web|title=S-Zone|url=http://www.lionambassadors.com/s-zone.html|website=Lion Ambassadors - Penn State Student Alumnai Corps|access-date=October 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Fogarty|first1=Ali|title=What Goes Into Creating the S-Zone?|url=http://onwardstate.com/2013/11/07/what-goes-into-creating-the-s-zone/|website=Onward State|access-date=October 21, 2015|date=November 7, 2013}}</ref> A small section behind the end zone are all given white and blue shirts supplied by the Pennsylvania State University Lion Ambassadors to create an "S" in the student section. The "S-zone" was moved from the 20 yard line to its current location at the beginning of the 2011 football season, as the student section was shifted over to between the 10 yard lines. For the 2008, 2011, 2013, 2018, and 20182023 Homecoming Games, the "S-zone" was black and pink, in honor of the original Penn State colors. On April 21, 2007, for the Annual Blue and White Game (Spring Scrimmage), the "S" zone was converted to a "VT" zone, in honor of the victims of the [[Virginia Tech massacre|massacre]] that took place on April 16, 2007, at [[Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University|Virginia Tech]].

[[File:Nittanyville_Tents.jpg|left|thumbnail|Nittanyville tents a few days before the 2019 whiteout game.]]

[[File:PSU_Whiteout_2018.jpg|left|thumbnail|The 2018 whiteout game against Ohio State.]]

After failed experiments with "Code Blue" during the down year of 2004, a localized version of the [[Winnipeg Jets (1972–96)#Winnipeg White Out|"Winnipeg White Out"]] made national headlines during the 2005 game versus Ohio State. In this game, despite {{convert|40|F|C}} temperatures and a misty rain, nearly every student, along with many other fans, wore a white shirt to the game, creating a sea of white.<ref name=History>{{cite web|last1=Cary|first1=Lee|title=Evolution of Penn State's 'Whiteout'|url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/football/article_ec0dc24e-5b5e-11e4-912a-001a4bcf6878.html|website=The Daily Collegian|date=24 October 2014 |access-date=October 21, 2015}}</ref> This was deemed a success, as the student section was declared "the best in the country" by ESPN analyst [[Kirk Herbstreit]], and the Nittany Lions won the game in an intense defensive battle, 17–10. The student section was widely credited with aiding the defense, which kept the Buckeyes' future Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Troy Smith, in check by intercepting a pass and recovering a decisive fumble in the final minutes. Smith was forced to call several timeouts during the game due to inability to communicate with his offense on the field.{{Citation needed|date=September 2018}}

[[Zombie Nation (band)|Zombie Nation]] is a tradition that was started during the 2004 football season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://zombienationpsu.blogspot.com/|title=Zombie Nation - Penn State football blog|access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> After the Nittany Lions make a big play, (typically on defense) the stadium blasts the song "[[Kernkraft 400]]" by Zombie Nation which ignites 107,000 into a frenzied blur all bouncing up and down in unison, waving towels and shakers wildly chanting "WE ARE PENN STATE" during the break in the melody of the song.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17841835|title=How Penn State's White Out became the in thing|date=October 21, 2016|website=ESPN.com|language=en|access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> The tradition gained national attention in 2005, after Penn State's 17–10 victory over Ohio State, which at the time, delivered the second highest audience for a regular season college football game ever on ESPN.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gopsusports.com/news/2005/10/12/Penn_State_Ohio_State_Clash_Delivers_ESPN_s_Second_Largest_College_Football_Audience.aspx|title=Penn State-Ohio State Clash Delivers ESPN's Second Largest College Football Audience|website=Penn State University Athletics|date=12 October 2005 |language=en|access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> Zombie Nation along with the Penn State Whiteout, have been direct influencers of Beaver Stadium being home to what many consider the best student section in college football.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2017/08/espns_kirk_herbstreit_ranks_pe.html|title=ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit ranks Penn State's student section as college football's best|last=Carr|first=Aaron|date=August 24, 2017|website=pennlive.com|language=en-US|access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> Since the tradition began, both Zombie Nation and the Whiteout have since spread to encompass the entire stadium.