Beaver Stadium will be at full capacity on Saturday for the first time since 2019, and fans heading to the No. 11 Nittany Lion football team’s 3:30 p.m. home opener against Ball State will see some changes to arrival and entry.
As Deputy Athletic Director Scott Sidwell said multiple times during a media availability on Tuesday, “Know before you go.”
Most notable among the changes, Penn State has moved to fully mobile ticketing for all varsity sports this fall.
“This is an industry trend. Certainly through COVID for health and safety having touchless transactions at the ticketing entries are something we’ve adjusted to,” Sidwell said.
It’s not a completely new process for Penn State. In 2019, 48% of people entering the stadium, including the student section, were using tickets on their mobile phones. But for those unfamiliar with the process, Penn State Athletics has developed step-by-step guides and answers to frequently asked questions. More than a dozen emails have been sent to ticket holders in the past six weeks about ticketing and other game day procedures, Sidwell said.
Most importantly, fans are urged to download their tickets to their Apple Wallet or Google Pay apps before leaving for the stadium. Doing so will allow them to open their tickets even without a cellular or Internet connection.
About 34% of tickets have been downloaded as of Tuesday morning, which according to Ticketmaster is 5-10% ahead of the industry standard for a Saturday football game, Sidwell said.
Screen shots are not a valid form of entry and will not scan at the gates.
Fans who are transferring tickets to someone else or accepting a ticket transfer should review the step-by-step guides on GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State will have a team of ticket assistants going out into the parking lots on Saturday to ask fans if they’ve downloaded their tickets yet and to provide assistance on the spot if help is needed. Staff will also be at the stadium gates to help.
When entering the stadium, fans will use mobile ticket scanners that have been installed at each gate.
Charging kiosks for iOS and Android devices will be available in and around the stadium and at external customer relations booths
Those who do not have a mobile phone will need to go to customer relations booths or stadium box offices with a valid photo ID matching the name on the ticket account on game day.
Stadium arrival
The one-way traffic patterns and traffic zones implemented in 2019 will return this year. Lots open at 8 a.m. for all non-noon kickoffs and 7 a.m. for noon kickoffs. The one-way traffic patterns going into effect four hours prior to kickoff — so 11:30 a.m. for Saturday’s game — and at 8:30 a.m. for noon games.
A significant change for this year is that fans purchasing parking passes on the day of the game will first be directed to 100 Innovation Boulevard in Innovation Park to buy their passes, then to an open lot.
Sidwell said the change for day-of-game parking purchases is an effort to ease congestion created by vehicles stopped to buy passes at select individual lots.
“We made that change after a lot of conversations with our fan councils and our fans and taking input about how we could improve that experience,” he said.
Day-of-game parking is $60 and is available until kickoff or until it’s sold out. Penn State Athletics encourages fans to purchase parking in advance at the Bryce Jordan Center box office (11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday) for $40, not only for the cost savings but also to assist with smoother traffic flow.
Stadium entry
Penn State expanded Gates E and F during the offseason to ease the entry process, reduce congestion around the stadium ticket office and improve pedestrian circulation with expanded walkways.
In addition to the mobile ticket scanning stations, walkthrough metal detectors have been installed at every stadium gate. Fans will pass through the metal detectors, then into “a little bullpen area where the ticket assistants will be,” before queueing to the ticket scanners, Sidwell said.
As in the past, only clear bags up to one gallon in size and small clutches or wristlets are permitted inside the stadium.
Arrival early
The two widened gates are part of the effort to get fans into the stadium well ahead of kickoff, and with ticketing and arrival changes, Sidwell urged fans to get to the stadium early.
“We’ve had some challenges in the past with certain areas of the stadium,” Sidwell said. “As we’ve mentioned before, when you’re trying to put 107,000 people in within an hour of the game it becomes very difficult.”
To that end, gates will open at 1 p.m. and to encourage fans to head in early, concessions stands will offer $1 off for every $5 spent
Sidwell said fans can also attend the team arrival on Curtin Road at 1:15 p.m. then head into the stadium. (He noted that an additional buffer zone will be created from the sidewalk to the street as a COVID-19 safety measure.)
Entering the stadium early will not only ease the process, but will add to the atmosphere, he said.
“I think it’s a great message for our team from the ‘family reunion’ perspective,” Sidwell said. “When they come out for pregame warmup and there’s a bunch of people in the stands it’s electric.”
Fewer than 4,000 tickets remained for Saturday’s game as of Tuesday morning.
“We’re expecting a full house,” Sidwell said.
“Taking a little extra time coming to the game is going to make that experience go a lot farther.”
