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Beaver Stadium Deserves To Host A Super Bowl

Since 1967 the NFL has presented show-stopping Super Bowls season after season. The annual title game is considered by many to be the biggest sporting event in the world. Even if you don’t like football, almost everyone watches the Super Bowl.

Every year, a different city hosts the prestigious event if it meets certain criteria and appeases the NFL bigwigs. Super Bowl sites are planned out years in advance, but the league still hasn’t selected a host stadium for 2026’s game.

Enter Beaver Stadium. It’s the fourth-largest stadium in the world, and while there are some drawbacks to hosting the event in Happy Valley, it could be pulled off. Plus, after playing at the Ros Bowl and Sun Devil Stadium, it’s not like the Super Bowl is a stranger to college arenas. Plus, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is already on board.

Before you say “no” too quickly, let us explain:

Weather

This is probably the top reason why many would say this could never happen. Super Bowls are traditionally played in warm regions or cities where the stadium has a dome. However, the Super Bowl has been played in outdoor cold weather stadiums before.

Take Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, for example. The game was played in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and although it was 49°F at kickoff, who knows how cold that game actually could’ve been? We get seemingly random warm days in Happy Valley during the winter sometimes. Maybe the NFL could feel comfortable rolling the dice on this one.

Hotels

Probably the other big problem with a Super Bowl coming to State College is the lodging situation. A Super Bowl in State College would require space for more than 110,000 people, and that includes the people that are already in State College. The NFL requires a minimum number of hotel spaces within one hour’s drive of the stadium, equaling 35% of the stadium’s capacity, along with hotels for the teams, officials, media, and other dignitaries.

However, as some downtown hotels are lost to high-rise construction, this one’s looking dodgy. More hotels could be built in time for the big game, but space remains a problem. However, we’d bet students would be willing to rent out their apartments for the weekend

Practice Facility

The actual game needs to happen in the Super Bowl host city, in addition to there being a need for practice facilities in the city as well. Penn State just so happens to have one of the largest indoor collegiate venues in the nation. Holuba Hall covers 118,000 square feet and would have plenty of room for the teams to practice and get ready for the big game.

Parking & Activities

Penn State is well accustomed to hosting thousands of football fans every weekend in the fall, so parking shouldn’t be a problem if the tailgate fields and lots are up for grabs.

The NFL also requires an indoor or outdoor space for an interactive football theme park of sorts, and the Bryce Jordan Center could be perfect for it. During the day of the game, a gameday version of activities will take place and that could be held at the Bryce Jordan Center as well.

The NFL also requires three golf courses and a bowling alley for tournaments to be held during the week. Penn State’s got its own brand of golf courses, and there’s always room for more, we’d bet.

Experience

Beaver Stadium has become one of the best stadiums to have a football game played in it. If a Super Bowl were to be played in State College, it could provide an incredible atmosphere and perhaps a new attendance record. More than 110,000 people have been in the stadium for a game, and that would beat the Super Bowl record by more than 6,000 people.

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About the Author

Matt Brown

Matt is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in sports studies from Bensalem, Pa. Matt is a huge Philadelphia sports fan and an overall sports fan in general. When not watching sports, you'll find him taking down any Dollar Dog challenge or rewatching the Big Ten Maps Commercial. To reach him, follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @matt_brown63, or email him at [email protected].

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