See the new Penn State ribbon board, the open air Gate F expansion, and more construction work at Beaver Stadium

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State opened the gates to Beaver Stadium for the first time on Saturday to welcome Bowling Green to town for its season opener. The day marked not just a chance to see the Nittany Lions in their home blues for the first time in a 34-27 win over the Falcons but also the chance to see various upgrades in and around the 107,000-seat venue.

The school’s Board of Trustees approved a $700 million renovation plan back in May. Much of that work will not start until after this season. And, it won’t finish until the start of the 2027 slate of games. However, some projects were taken care of this offseason. One key example is one no one sees. Winterization work was done plumbing fixtures, HVAC systems, and other areas to ensure the stadium could operate in the cold weather conditions it might need to if the Nittany Lions host a home first round College Football Playoff game.

There was plenty of work done that is noticeable to the naked eye, however. The expanded fan area near Gate F is the most obvious change. In a news release , Penn State described the area as follows:

–Outside of Gate F, located on the East side of Beaver Stadium, is an open-air, 34,000 square-foot space where fans can enjoy food and drink options in a lounge area.

–Gate F creates additional fan entry points, allowing for enhanced circulation by expanding the stadium’s security perimeter. There will be 20 additional points of ticket scanning and security.

–The enhancement of Gate F will also increase concession opportunities with more locations and offerings.

–In addition, space previously used as stadium storage space has been converted into 4,000 square feet of usable fan space to improve fan circulation on the field level concourse.

See photos of the changes Penn State made at Beaver Stadium

Some changes are not yet up and running. Two such examples are the escalators in the southeast corner of the stadium. Those won’t be ready until the end of September. And, the super ribbon boards that sit to the left and right of the newly-enhanced south end zone video board won’t be operational until November. You can see all of that and more in our photo gallery below.

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