UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., April 24, 2017 ââ'¬" Deputy Director of Athletics Phil Esten discussed Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics' Facilities Master Plan and answered questions at today's Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) Mid-Atlantic Region meeting. Approximately 30 sports editors and reporters attended the day-long meeting at the Pegula Ice Arena.
The majority of Esten's remarks were on Athletics' Facilities Master Plan, which was announced on March 13, and is a comprehensive view of the next 20 years. The exhaustive study addresses 23 venues that Penn State's 31 programs practice, train, compete and are housed in and the needs of its student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans. The master plan focuses on creating conditions for success for Penn State's 800 student-athletes and enhanced experiences for the Nittany Lions' passionate and loyal students, alumni, staff and fans.
Esten outlined the five priority projects during the initial five years - falling in the next five-year capital plan - the first four of which are new construction:
- Center of Excellence
- Indoor practice facility
- 10-lane, 50-meter Natatorium
- 10-court Indoor Tennis Facility
- Renovation and upgrades to Jeffrey Field (men's and women's soccer facility)
He also spoke in general about potential renovation plans, sometime after the first five-year capital plan, for Beaver Stadium, the Bryce Jordan Center and Rec Hall.
One of the key components of the master plan is the centralization of student-athlete services, which the Center of Excellence would significantly help provide, and the positive impact the new Morgan Academic Center has provided important confirmation. The facility opened last June and brought four satellite academic centers on campus under one roof, across the street from the proposed Center of Excellence.
"Our student-athletes and coaches told us they wanted to be more integrated with our other teams," Esten stated. "The effects of it (Morgan Academic Center) have been fantastic."
In addition to proving office and locker space for seven teams and other centralized medical and performance enhancement services, Esten said the 450,000-square foot Center of Excellence also would include a training table for all 31 programs.
At a time to be determined after the initial five years, the master plan calls for substantial renovations to Beaver Stadium, which was constructed in 1960 and has expanded seven times, most recently in 2001. The upgrades include a significant increase in chairback seating, new concessions locations and food options, new restrooms, wider concourses and additional premium seating options, which alumni and fans requested in surveys conducted during the master planning process.
Once the extensive renovation is complete, which will significantly improve fan amenities and experience, Beaver Stadium will have a capacity of at least 100,000, maintaining its stature as one of the nation's largest and most iconic facilities. Improvements to the tailgating experience around Beaver Stadium also is included in the study.
"The fan experience is really important," Esten said. "How do we captivate and engage our fans? We're competing with what is happening at home. Our fans travel to events and see some of the amenities at other facilities and that type of expectation is extended to their experience at Penn State."
One of the major renovation points is the re-treading of Beaver Stadium. The facility currently has 24-inch seating treads rather than the industry standard of 33 inches.
"We'll do these projects once we're able to fund them," Esten commented. "This is the most comprehensive master plan in college athletics. We're looking at all our facilities as assets; we'll be in position to adapt (the master plan) over time."
Penn State has one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men's, 15 women's) and is among the nation's handful of self-supporting athletic departments. Penn State student-athletes have an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 89 percent. The Nittany Lions rank No. 4 among all Division I schools with 195 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time and lead all conference schools with 5,730 Academic All-Big Ten selections since 1991-92.
Penn State is ranked No. 2 in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings entering the final six weeks of the 2016-17 competition schedule. The Nittany Lions have won the NCAA Wrestling Championship and eight conference titles this year, with men's volleyball capturing its 30th EIVA Tournament crown last Saturday to earn a berth in the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship, May 2-6 in Columbus, Ohio.