West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium has more than doubled in size since it was moved from its former site northeast of Rec Hall on the west side of campus to the east end of the campus in 1960.

Penn State dedicated Beaver Stadium with a 20-0 win over Boston University on Sept. 17, 1960. Nittany Lion halfback Eddie Caye scored the stadium's first touchdown at 10:45 of the first quarter.

Built in a horseshoe configuration seating 46,284 in 1960, the venue has undergone multiple generations of expansion and renovation. Additions of over 2,000 seats in 1969 and more than 9,000 in 1972 increased the capacity to 57,538. Expanded bleachers in the south end zone in 1976 raised the capacity to 60,203.

A uniquely engineered expansion during the winter, spring and summer of 1978 added more than 16,000 seats, bringing the capacity to 76,639. The stadium was cut into sections, raised eight feet by hydraulic jacks and precast concrete seating forms inserted within the inner circle of the stadium, where a running track previously had been located.

In 1980, expansion raised the capacity to 83,770. Lights were added in 1984. In 1985, the addition of walkways around the tops of the end zones and entry ramps at the four corners resulted in lowering the capacity to 83,370. The addition of a 10,033-seat upper deck in the north end zone in 1991 and portable seats on the north end zone concourse increased the stadium's capacity to 93,967.

A further expansion in 2001 helped drive Penn State's home venue to become the second-largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere, raising capacity to an all-time high of 107,282. The 2001 expansion and renovation included the introduction of a three-level suites building, extending the premium offering available to Nittany Lion fans on game days.

Penn State's first permanent home for football was Beaver Field, which stood between the present-day Osmond and Frear laboratories in center campus. Before that, games were played on the Old Main lawn.

The first game at 500-seat Beaver Field was played on Nov. 6, 1893 against Western University of Pittsburgh (later to become the University of Pittsburgh). The 32-0 Penn State victory was delayed two days because of bad weather and played on a Monday afternoon.

New Beaver Field, located near Rec Hall, was dedicated in 1909 with a 31-0 win over Grove City. Originally constructed of wood, the stadium was converted to steel in 1936. The area also contained facilities for baseball, lacrosse, soccer and track.

New Beaver Field was the Lions' home through the 1959 season, after which the 30,000-seat stadium was dismantled and moved in 700 pieces one mile to the east side of campus. The old stadium was reassembled with 16,000 additional seats to form Beaver Stadium.

The stadium is named in honor of James A. Beaver. A lawyer in nearby Bellefonte at the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army as a second lieutenant and rose to the rank of brigadier general prior to his discharge in 1864. Beaver, who died in 1914, served as a superior court judge, governor of Pennsylvania and president of the University's Board of Trustees. He is credited with being among the most influential leaders in the development of the University at the turn of the century.