All season long, Joshua Guiher (@CollegiateStdms) of CollegiateStadiums.com has been giving us his guides, to the best stadium experiences across the college football landscape.
Well this week, Josh stays in town, and tells you everything you need to know about his home stadium, Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.
Visiting Beaver Stadium – Penn State
Quick Facts:
– Beaver Stadium is the second largest college football stadium in the country behind only Michigan Stadium and seats 106,572 fans.
– The largest crowd ever was for the 2002 game versus Nebraska with 110,753 in attendance.
– Beaver Stadium was built in 1960 partially with the bleachers from the old Beaver Field which was located near the Nittany Lion shrine. The old stands were moved in 700 pieces to the new location.
Seating:
The seating in Beaver Stadium is bleacher seating except for the players’ family seating, the Mount Nittany Club seating and the new South end zone upper deck seats. The bleacher seats are the tightest you will find anywhere at a reported 13 inches wide per seat. Quite frankly, when everyone is in their seat, it is quite a tight fit.
The sections are easy to figure out by looking at the first letter of the section on your ticket. A “N” means your seat is in the North end of the stadium, “E” is East, “S” is South and “W” is West. All tickets with a “U” at the end (ie SAU) mean they are in the upper deck, which starts around row 45, but that is a bit misleading because the first 15-20 rows are lettered. I personally don’t like those seats because they are part of one of the expansions when the track was taken out of the stadium and have almost no elevation so it is very hard to see past those in front of you, not to mention that they are field level, so it is hard to see over the people in the bench area as well.
Concessions:
The concessions at Beaver Stadium are a bit of a letdown. Except for the hot dogs, which are Berks, the food is bland in terms of both options and taste. There are no name brand options like Chick-fil-A or anything, just cafeteria type offerings for stadium prices.
Soda is Pepsi products and costs $4 for a decent sized cup, although it is a souvenir cup. A 20oz bottle of Aquafina costs $3.
Traditions (What to watch for):
Mascot: The Nittany Lion can be found going around the field throughout the game. He will often “fight” with mascots if they enter area around the student section. The Nittany Lion will also usually do some sort of performance around the end of the third quarter. Also, at times throughout the game, the student section will cheer “we want the lion” and the lion will select the loudest section and be crowd-surfed up the stands.
Joe Paterno: Of course you will not want to miss Joe Paterno. He is famous for his rolled up pant legs but my favorite part is when he leads the team out of the tunnel. Also, be sure to watch Joe if a close call goes against Penn State as he will always chew out the sideline official, walk away, then come back for a little more.
Band/Drum Major: The drum major does two front flips at the beginning of the band’s pregame performance as the entire crowd cheers him on. The band is consistently ranked as one of the best in all of college football, winning the 2005 Sudler Trophy, which is awarded to the best band each year.
If you really like band performances, the band, cheerleaders and dance team also do their pre-game routine 90 minutes before kickoff in the Bryce Jordan Center at an event call “TailGreat.” It is the same exact performance that you will see on the field (minus the drum major flip) but it draws thousands each week.
Tailgating:
Tailgating starts early, at 8am for all games including the 8pm kickoffs. If you try to show up to the lot at 8am, you are most likely going to sit in traffic for a while since people seem to start lining up at the gates around 7am if not earlier.
All of the paved lots are pre-sold to season ticket holders so unless you find a pass for sale online or from a scalper, you are going to have to park in the farm fields for $20 ($5 if pre-bought) as mentioned in the parking section.
People will play the normal tailgating games such as corn hole, ladder ball and washers. You will also find some games of flip cup and beer pong (beruit) while others will toss around footballs although that is against the rules. Also, drinking is illegal while the game is going on, so it doesn’t fill up as much with people who don’t have game tickets like it used to.
Fans:
The fans are about as passionate as you will find anywhere in college football. They are known around the college football landscape as being welcoming to opposing fans, often offering food and drinks to visitors.
Of course, there are always a small portion of fans who can be a bit too passionate after a long day of drinking. Although fights are rare, you should still be aware of your surroundings if you are cheering for the visiting team, especially if it is an evening or night kickoff.
At the game, you will hear the famous “We are….Penn State” cheer a few times, but not as much as you might think. The student section, at least for the games they show up to, will start the wave, which goes around the stadium a few times, usually at normal speed, then really fast and finally a slow lap which will take a few minutes to complete.
If the game is interesting, the fans are vocal whether they are cheering or booing at the time. If the game gets lopsided or just generally a non-exciting game (like the 6-4 game versus Iowa), the fans can be pretty quiet for 107,000 people, but still louder than the average college football fan base.
Tickets:
Up until last year, tickets were always sold out and required you to find your own from a scalper or online. Now, with the exceptions of big games, you can get individual game tickets from the school for face value and can often find them cheaper online. For the few big opponent games, things get more difficult with prices ranging from $150-$500 per ticket depending on opponent.
As you walk around, you will see many scalpers, although the guy at the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street usually has the best selection at average prices.
Getting There:
I’m not going to give driving directions as most people are just going to use a GPS or MapQuest for directions, however I will throw in some ideas on avoiding major traffic jams and avoiding excessive parking fees.
Avoiding traffic: If you are coming in off of Interstate 80, try the Milesburg exit (exit 158) instead of Bellefonte (exit 161). There is much less traffic on the road you get off onto (144/150), ultimately getting you into State College faster. Plus, if you want to avoid the mass of people in State College, this route will take you right past a great restaurant in Bellefonte called Maria’s.
Parking: Be sure to call ahead and get your parking pass. The deadline is 10 days before game day to get your parking for $5, after this including game day, it is $20, a huge difference for the same spot in the field.
One alternative is to park downtown at the Beaver Street or Fraser Street parking garages, which are both located at the same intersection. It is approximately a 1 ½ mile walk from there, but if you don’t want to walk that far, you can take the bus for free by getting on the Blue or White loops. For bus route into, check out www.catabus.com or download their free apps which also provide bus location info so you know how far away the bus is.
The other alternative is to park at the South Hills plaza for free and take the bus ($3 each way) to the stadium and back. The issue with this is the line to ride back forms quickly and it will often take 45 minutes to an hour till you get to board a bus.
If you are flying into State College, well good luck. Flights are basically impossible to find on game weekends and cost hundreds of dollars if you do find a seat. Your best alternatives are to fly into Harrisburg, Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, rent a car, and make the 2-3 hour drive depending on which city you select.
Where to Stay:
There are not a whole lot of hotels in the State College area and most require a two night minimum stay for game weekends with room rates between $250-$400 per night depending on the opponent. If you don’t want to spend that kind of money, or just can’t find a room, there are plenty of alternatives.
One popular option is to stay in Danville or Altoona, two towns that are each about an hour away. Another is to try the local bed & breakfast locations. The third alternative is to get on craigslist and find someone who rents their house or apartment to football fans for the weekend. The last popular alternative is to again use craigslist and find the people who rent RV’s and campers for the weekend. They will setup in the tailgating lot and everything for you, and you just show up, sleep, eat and enjoy the game.
Downtown:
Bars: The bar scene in State College has been changing rapidly with increased regulations from the liquor control board. Most of the bars have been fined so much that they are in danger of losing their liquor licenses, so you are likely to find high cover charges, no drink specials and long lines as capacity is closely monitored to meet fire code.
I’m not saying that the bar scene isn’t fun in State College, I’m just saying it isn’t the same as your typical “anything goes” college town. The most popular bars in town are Café 210 West, Bill Pickle’s Tap room and the Lion’s Den. The Phyrst is also a great place if you are looking for an Irish bar although it is a bit dingy.
Restaurants: If you are looking for a full breakfast with waffles, pancakes or omelets, there is only one place to consider, The Waffle Shop. However, don’t get confused, as there is The Original Waffle Shop and The Waffle Shop due to a family split. You will want to visit The Waffle Shop on West College Avenue, about two miles from downtown or their other location in downtown Bellefonte if you are coming in from Interstate 80.
For quick breakfast food including awesome burritos or a nice sandwich or salad for lunch, try The Fraser Street Deli. The menu consists of over 120 items, all named after Penn State athletes, presidents and coaches like the Joe Paterno or the Todd Blackledge. One of their sandwiches, the Adam Taliaferro, was just voted top ten sports themed sandwiches in the country by an ESPN poll and the place has a nice collection of game worn jerseys from various Penn State sports. As an added bonus, they offer 10% off to anyone who mentions they visit this website.
For dinner, try Rotelli. Most of their food is made from scratch and tastes excellent. They also have a nice downstairs bar which features a huge menu of margaritas. Another place for dinner would be Prospectors, a few miles out of town on West College Avenue, but their ribs have won a few awards over the years.
Things to Do:
If you are in town for more than just the game, be sure to check out a few of the local spots. For starters, make sure you visit the Nittany Lion shrine, which is located beside Rec Hall on the opposite side of campus from Beaver Stadium. While near Rec Hall, catch the 4-time defending national championship women’s volleyball team game. At Beaver Stadium itself, be sure to visit the Joe Paterno statue or one non-game days visit the all-sports museum located near gate B at the South end zone.
If you want to get out of town and away from most people, visit Penn’s Cave, the only all water cave in America. You take a boat tour through the cave, around a lake and back through the cave. They also have an animal park which is great if you have kids. Another fun thing to do is take a hike of Mount Nittany and check out the view of Beaver Stadium from the summit.
Overall:
A visit to Penn State for a football game should be toward the top of your list for college football road trips.
To read about all Josh’s stadium experiences, please visit CollegiateStadiums.com, and follow him on Twitter @CollegiateStdms.
