Plans to expand Beaver Stadium will not be completed before the 1990 football season as previously hoped, Penn State announced Friday through the University's Sports Information Office.
"We feel sufficient time needs to be devoted to a study of the final design, an investigation of facilities that have had similar expansions and a careful deliberation of alternative proposals that might be appropriate," University Athletic Director Jim Tarman said in a prepared statement.
Problems in design are causing the delay -- the seats could block vision of the scoreboard in the current construction proposal, chairman of the Committee on Physical Plant Bernard Hankin said at Friday's Board of Trustees meeting.
"We don't want to design something and rush it," Hankin said. "We want it to be right."
Tarman denied safety was the reason for postponing expansion.
"When we saw the plans, we were uncomfortable with sight lines (and) distance from the field," Tarman said, "and so rather than jump into it we decided to postpone it a year and give it some more studies. Safety was not a factor in the postponement."
Members of the University Board of Trustees were also informed of Penn State's decision at Friday's meeting held at the Shenango Valley campus in Sharon.
The University revealed plans in early April for a 9,200-seat addition that would make Beaver Stadium the second largest on-campus stadium in the country (based on 1988 seating capacities). At the present, only Michigan Stadium -- home of the Michigan Wolverines -- with a seating capacity of 101,701 accomodates more people.
Tarman said Penn State wants to see what other universities are doing nationwide in terms of stadium expansion.
"We're going to study stadiums around the country and see what they did," Tarman said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We already looked at Tennessee and we're going to look at another stadium."
The University has already looked at the stadium at Michigan State and the Office of Physical Plant is currently drawing up a list of four or five other stadiums nationwide for Penn State officials to observe, Tarman said.
The University wants to be comfortable with a number of factors, including accessibility, location of the new seats, suitability from a spectator standpoint and the provision of essential services before construction starts, Tarman said.
Penn State wants to focus on universities across the country who have undergone stadium expansion in the last four or five years, Tarman said.
While approximately 9,000 seats remain the target, the final total might be slightly higher or lower based on design and safety considerations. Options other than a second deck on the East side also will be studied before the project begins, according to a Sports Information press release.
Beaver Stadium, which currently seats 83,370, has been sold out for 65 consecutive games.
When expansion plans were announced in April, Tarman said, "the unparalleled success of Penn State's football program has taxed the seating capacity of Beaver Stadium beyond its current limit."
Season ticket renewals for the last three years have exceeded 98 percent and all student and faculty tickets have sold out by early July, including this year.
Penn State is scheduled for six home games for the 1989-90 season:
-- Virginia (Sept. 9)
-- Temple (Sept. 16)
-- Boston College (Sept. 23 -- All-University Day)
-- Alabama (Oct. 28)
-- West Virginia (Nov. 4 -- Homecoming)
-- Notre Dame (Nov. 18)
