The $93M expansion completed in 2001 added roughly 13,000 seats to Beaver Stadium and took it's official capacity to 107,282. The onset of ADA related changes in 2011 lowered that number to today's 106,572.
Here's the attendance history since 2001's expansion. I don't discount the impact the HDTV, man caves and conveniences of home as well as STEP and State College's geographical driving challenges for all the metro areas to access, but look at this data, factor in all the above and the Sandusky debacle and tell me that a winning team won't put 106,572 fans back in the seats.
2001-107,576
2002-107,239 #1 Attendance 110,753 PSU 40 - Neb 7, Sept. 14, 2002
2003-105,629
2004-103,111
2005-104,859
2006-107,567
2007-108,917
2008-108,254
2009-107,008
2010-104,234
2011-101,427
2012- 96,730
2013- 96,587
2014-101,623
2015- 99,799 Highs: Army - 107,387; Michigan - 107,418; Lows: Buffalo - 93,065
2016-???????
Now given a #12 spot in the Championship Poll with potential for a New Years Day bowl, that stadium will be rockin' the rest of the year.
Nicer bathroom facilities, hell yes. Better concessions, damn right. Smoother entrance/exit, certainly. More chairback seats at the cost of 5,000 to 10,000 seats, go for it. A return to a perennial top 10 team.............S.R.O.
I'm 63 years old and I get it that going to a cold, wet, windy game now is harder on the bones. But I never went to PSU games for "comfort", I went for the same reason I saw 2 Saturdays's ago when we beat the #2 team in the nation........Screaming, crying, jumping for joy fans that live to watch Penn State football L-I-V-E!
Hope to see 106,572 of you at the Iowa game.
Here's the attendance history since 2001's expansion. I don't discount the impact the HDTV, man caves and conveniences of home as well as STEP and State College's geographical driving challenges for all the metro areas to access, but look at this data, factor in all the above and the Sandusky debacle and tell me that a winning team won't put 106,572 fans back in the seats.
2001-107,576
2002-107,239 #1 Attendance 110,753 PSU 40 - Neb 7, Sept. 14, 2002
2003-105,629
2004-103,111
2005-104,859
2006-107,567
2007-108,917
2008-108,254
2009-107,008
2010-104,234
2011-101,427
2012- 96,730
2013- 96,587
2014-101,623
2015- 99,799 Highs: Army - 107,387; Michigan - 107,418; Lows: Buffalo - 93,065
2016-???????
Now given a #12 spot in the Championship Poll with potential for a New Years Day bowl, that stadium will be rockin' the rest of the year.
Nicer bathroom facilities, hell yes. Better concessions, damn right. Smoother entrance/exit, certainly. More chairback seats at the cost of 5,000 to 10,000 seats, go for it. A return to a perennial top 10 team.............S.R.O.
I'm 63 years old and I get it that going to a cold, wet, windy game now is harder on the bones. But I never went to PSU games for "comfort", I went for the same reason I saw 2 Saturdays's ago when we beat the #2 team in the nation........Screaming, crying, jumping for joy fans that live to watch Penn State football L-I-V-E!
Hope to see 106,572 of you at the Iowa game.
