Joe Paterno statue to be placed at downtown restaurant in State College

Joe Paterno's statue outside Beaver Stadium was removed by the university in July 2012. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

The legend of Joe Paterno will live on in State College, Pa., as a downtown restaurant will install a bronze statue of the former Nittany Lions coach outside its doors in November 2015, according to a post by Jessica Tully on the student-run blog Onward State on Wednesday.

Paterno's statue outside of Beaver Stadium was removed in July 2012.

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“There’s been some level of frustration among Penn Staters with what happened with the statue at the stadium,” said Ted Sebastianelli, one of the organizers of the project. “We wanted to come up with a way to honor Joe for all that he did for the State College community. It wasn’t just the university he impacted — it was the whole town.”

The new statue, which will reportedly be designed by sculptor Zenos Frudakis, will depict Paterno seated on a bench, reading one of his favorite books, "Aeneid," outside of Tavern Restaurant.

There were plans to have a statue of Sue Paterno seated next to her husband or standing behind him, but she declined, Sebastianelli said.

The Paterno's family lawyer, Wick Sollers, did not respond to Tully's request for comment.

“As alumni groups come back every summer to celebrate reunions, they migrate to the Tavern,” Sebastianelli said. “They can sit and reflect on the bench. It really will be a wonderful addition to the community.

“There’s a culture of people in State College that clearly appreciates what Joe has done. Our alumni always want to know how we will honor him. This is something we can do for State College while getting Penn Staters from around the country involved. This has nothing to do with university. We are doing this on our own.”

The statue will cost about $300,000, according to Sebastianelli.

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