Penn State's Beaver Stadium Could Be the Nation's Largest This Year

Beaver Stadium should see a major capacity upgrade for Matt Campbell's first season.

Fireworks are seen over an announced crowd of 111,015 before the 2025 White Out game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As college football trends toward smaller stadiums with more luxury options, Penn State appears to pushing in both directions. Could Penn State's Beaver Stadium become the nation's largest next for next season and beyond? The potential is gaining traction.

On ESPN's College GameDay Podcast, hosts Dan Wetzel, Pete Thamel and Pat Forde discussed recent reporting around Beaver Stadium's projected capacity for the 2026 season. Beaver Stadium could seat between 108,000 and 109,000 fans in Matt Campbell's first season.

That's a breathtaking number and would make Beaver Stadium the nation's largest venue for at least one season, surpassing Michigan Stadium at 107,601. Coincidentally, Penn State will visit Michigan in October.

The College GameDay hosts appeared to get their numbers from a recent story by Penn State beat writer Audrey Snyder at her Substack site, Inside the Lions. Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft told Snyder in a recent interview that Beaver Stadium's capacity will be around 108,000 this season but added this.

"We continue to count, but I think we’ll be north of 108,000," Kraft said in the interview with Snyder. "I think we could get to 109,000, but what people don’t understand is there are all these nooks and crannies that we’re using now.”

The fluidity is the product of Phase II of the Beaver Stadium renovation, which is changing the stadum's capacity. Penn State recently "topped out" the new West Tower at 195 feet, below which will sit a new collection of bleacher seats. Penn State plans to open those seating sections in stages over the season.

And if Penn State rebuilds the temporary bleachers on Beaver Stadium's East side, capacty indeed could reach above 108,000. Last season, Beaver Stadium's capacity was 106,304, which included about 9,000 temporary bleachers on both sides.

With that added temporary capacity, Beaver Stadium had essentially the same capacity as its normal number of 106,572. Penn State commissioned InProduction to build the temporary seats during the 2025 season.

"[Penn State] came to us and said, 'Where else can we add some more seats?'" Phillip Glaeser, InProduction's director of marketing, said in an interview last year. "Which is very common. Every stadium has a corner that's maybe underutilized."

The beginning of yet another historic chapter for Penn State Athletics 🫡🏗️#WeAre pic.twitter.com/zslb5grNd8

— Penn State Athletics (@GoPSUsports) June 12, 2026

Penn State has not announced a set capacity for Beaver Stadium once the renovation is complete, which is scheduled to happen before the 2027 season. Some football recruits have said that Penn State expects to have the nation's largest stadium once the renovation is complete. That has not been confirmed.

Capacity and the new luxury options are essential to Beaver Stadium's future as a year-round entertainment venue and revenue-producer. Penn State initially said that it intended to maintain a stadium capacity of least at 100,000 fans. But the entire renovation could produce a bigger venue overall, particularly if Penn State continues using temporary bleachers on the stadium's east side.

"By making these renovations, Beaver Stadium would be one of the only multi-use entertainment facilities at this scale between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh," Kraft said trustees. "The enhancements to Beaver Stadium will create significant new revenue and increase philanthropy opportunities that will allow us to reinvest funds into all of our student-athletes and allow athletics to continue to be self-supporting.

"Equally as important, by equipping the stadium for these events, we’ll be able to increase the number of visitors to the region, which will help bolster the local economy. ... The opportunity to host non-football activities and large-scale events at Beaver Stadium will bring additional economic growth year-round."

The ESPN College GameDay Podcast crew congratulated Penn State on its potential milestone. However, they also had another suggestion.

"I'd prefer they add two lanes to the road coming in and out so you can actually get to the games, as opposed to building the next iteration so you can watch the game from south Scranton," Thamel said.

Watch the podcast here. The Beaver Stadium discussion follows a look at the situation around Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel.