Penn State University trustees are expected to vote Tuesday on whether an institution that is both a football powerhouse and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt should spend $700 million for a stadium renovation.
One trustee has made it quite clear publicly how he feels.
On his website, trustee Barry Fenchak says the answer should be “No.”
In a statement titled, “Why we can’t afford the Beaver Stadium renovation proposed by Penn State Board of Trustee leadership,” the alumni-elected board member who is an investment adviser in State College lays out his arguments.
Penn State does not have the cash, the philanthropic support or revenue to sustain what would be the biggest capital project ever in Penn State athletics and one of the largest in university history, Fenchak said in his post Friday.
Since first proposing a renovation versus building a new home for its Nittany Lions, Penn State and its President Neeli Bendapudi have insisted the project won’t be a drain.
Those shepherding it have a timetable calling for completion before the 2027 football season. Construction would begin in January 2025.
“In moving forward with this renovation decision, I want to remind everybody that anything that Penn State athletics does is self-sustaining and always has been,” Bendapudi told the board of trustees in February 2023.
“So no tuition, no student fees, none of the educational budget funds will be used for this project, and certainly we hope to count on our dedicated and loyal fans to pitch in with philanthropy to help us make this a reality,” she added.
Bendapudi called the renovation a less expensive option to preserve an iconic college sports venue that has huge economic benefits for the university and region.
But Fenchak, a Penn State alumnus, paints a different picture. For one thing, he said the athletics department already is $250 million in debt that is financed by the university and backed by tuition revenue. He said the project could more than triple that debt.
“One of my important duties as a trustee is to reject proposals that would place the University in unsustainable financial situations, including project proposals from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA),” he wrote.
“Unwise ICA financial decisions not only hamstring athletics operations but every dollar of debt incurred is underwritten by general tuition dollars, not by ICA,” he added. “In a worst case scenario, that debt would be passed to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.”
Asked about Tuesday’s expected vote and Fenchak’s assertions, university spokeswoman Erin Colbourn offered a brief statement Monday that read in part:
“The board has had robust discussions on this topic and will continue them in public tomorrow. Also correct what President Bendapudi has shared previously that Penn State Athletics is one of a handful of self-sustaining intercollegiate athletics departments nationwide. Nothing more to add at this point.”
The issue has stoked passions on both sides, given the role football plays in Penn State’s brand identity, but also the deepening public concern as Penn State and other universities face budget shortfalls and campus cutbacks.
It remains to be seen if other board members will side with Fenchak. Trustees have already approved the project’s initial phase totaling $70 million.
Following an executive session, Tuesday’s special meeting of the full trustees board and Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning will be held via conference call at 10:30 a.m.
Beaver Stadium can hold nearly 107,000 fans, placing it among the largest in college football. It has stood since 1960 at the corner of Porter Road and Park Avenue.
Last fall, Penn State settled on an architect for the massive project. It hired Populous, a company with experience in major sports construction projects, including on Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills stadium now being built.
The firm was involved in previous work to upgrade Beaver Stadium.
Initially, work would center on enhancing safety and security for traffic and pedestrians, improving field lighting and winterization to enable stadium use when temperatures are below freezing, Bill Sitzabee, Penn State’s chief facilities officer, said in October.
It would enable Penn State to host a College Football Playoff game in 2024 and non-football events, boosting revenue for Penn State and the Centre County region, officials added.
Then, a multi-year effort would be undertaken to reconstruct the stadium’s west side, while preserving the traditional bowl-style seating and adding club and loge seats and executive and founder’s suites, Sitzabee explained.
Bill Schackner is a TribLive reporter covering higher education. Raised in New England, he joined the Trib in 2022 after 29 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. Previously, he has written for newspapers in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. He can be reached at bschackner@triblive.com.
