Penn State is working on scenarios for attendance at 2021 football games in Beaver Stadium

Penn State vice president of athletics Sandy Barbour said she is hopeful for full capacity being permitted at Beaver Stadium for the 2021 football season but also is planning for more limited options based on the latest local and state guidelines.

In a letter to season-ticket holders made public Thursday, Barbour said that, while the current Pennsylvania standard for outdoor stadiums is 50% capacity with six feet of physical distancing, it would not be possible to achieve that figure at Beaver Stadium, where the capacity is around 107,000.

“While simple math would tell you that we could fit approximately 53,500 fans at 50% capacity, the reality is, with six-foot social distancing, we are only able to accommodate less than 20,000 fans,” Barbour said in the letter.

She said she will release information in the coming weeks based on limited-capacity options with six feet and three feet of social distancing while also planning for “a full stadium scenario throughout the 2021 season.”

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Barbour cited a recent announcement by the Big Ten that the conference will not regulate crowd sizes this season but “defer to local guidance of each institution as it relates to attendance policies.”

Last season, only family members of players, coaches, and staff were allowed into Beaver Stadium for games. Earlier this month, the Nittany Lions conducted two spring scrimmages with fans, inviting freshmen on April 17 and seniors last Friday night.

Barbour said her department is working with Ticketmaster and Populous, a global firm that designs indoor and outdoor venues, on developing a pod seating system “to achieve maximum attendance within the physical distancing requirements.”

Penn State will convert to a mobile ticket system for all fans in the new season, a system that worked well with student tickets in 2019, Barbour said, adding that resources on mobile ticketing would be provided “to make the transition as easy as possible for our fans.”

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As for updates on capacity, she said, “We will continue to keep you informed as we progress in our plans for the fall and as guidance changes. At this time, we continue to wait to have a clearer picture of our capacity before we send out our season ticket renewals.”