Beaver Stadium is located on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University and is home to their college football team, the Nittany Lions. Named for James A. Beaver, a former governor of Pennsylvania and president of the University's board of trustees, the stadium currently has a capacity of 107,282, making it the second largest stadium in the United States, behind only the University of Michigan's stadium.
History
Predecessors
Until 1893, Penn State teams participated in sporting events on Old Main lawn, a large grassy area in front of the primary classroom building of the time. 500-seat Beaver Field was the first permenant home for Penn State's football team, and the first game played there was a Penn State victory over Western University of Pittsburgh (now the University of Pittsburgh) on November 6, 1893. In 1909, New Beaver Field opened, and served as Penn State's stadium until the 1959 season, when the entire 30,000 seat stadium was dismantled and moved to the east end of campus, reassembled and expanded, and dubbed Beaver Stadium.
Expansions
In 1960, Beaver Stadium had a capacity of 46,284, and expansions in 1969, 1974 and 1976 increased that to 60,203. In 1978, 16,000 seats were added when the stadium was cut into sections and raised on hydralic lifts, allowing the insertion of seating along the inner ring of the stadium where the track had previously been located. In 1980, maximum capacity increased to 83,770.
A major and somewhat controversial construction project took place in 2001, raising the stadium's total capacity to 107,282. An upper deck was added to the south end of the stadium, blocking the view of neighboring Mount Nittany (which had sentimental value for some hardcore fans), but making Beaver Stadium the second largest stadium in the United States, only behind Michigan's stadium, which holds 107,501.
Records
Beaver Stadium's largest crowd of 110,753 was present for Penn State's 40-7 victory over the University of Nebraska on September 14, 2002. Penn State also set an NCAA record in 2002 for largest season attendance, with 1,257,707 watching Penn State games over the course of the season.