Penn State may explore more Beaver Stadium concerts. Will traffic issues improve?

Future concerts at Beaver Stadium are a possibility, a Penn State official said, but some in the sold-out crowd for Luke Combs on Saturday left the concert soured at their experience.

Traffic problems especially caused headaches before and after the show.

For hours before doors opened for the 5:45 p.m. show, traffic in State College to get to the stadium was extremely backed up. In some cases, it took well over an hour to drive less than two miles. One video on YouTube shows vehicle traffic at a standstill before the show.

Fans took to social media to praise the show Combs put on, but many also vented about problems getting into and out of the stadium parking lots. Traffic was “way worse than a Penn State game,” one person wrote in a comment on a CDT story on Facebook. Parking lots opened at noon and people could tailgate during the day.

Unlike before and after football games, in which it’s possible to have more than 100,000 people making their way to the stadium, there was not a one-way traffic pattern in place ahead of the concert.

A one-way traffic pattern began two and a half hours before kickoff during the last season. Even for the Blue-White game last month, a game day traffic pattern was used. According to a release about parking and traffic for the 2024 Blue-White game, the annual spring game routinely draws more than 60,000 people — less than the 80,000 people at the concert.

A one-way traffic pattern was in effect after the concert.

Kristina Petersen, Penn State’s senior associate athletics director for communications, content and branding, did not directly address questions about traffic in an email Wednesday. But she said as the university explores other opportunities to host events, they’ll review the Combs concert.

“We are continuing to look at opportunities to host events outside of football games. As is true with any event we host, we will have a debrief and look at all facets of the event, and address any concerns or changes that need to be made to make the event run as smoothly as possible,” Petersen said.

One concert attendee, Jody Ramer, said she spent nearly $700 on tickets for the show and went with her daughters and friend. She unexpectedly had to repurchase wheelchair accessible seats a week before the concert due to a fractured knee.

Getting into the stadium was a hassle, and once they were inside, Ramer said it was a “stampede” to find seats.

“People pushing, walking into me, all but starting fights by people (who were) trying to clear a path for me, only to get to our section and be at the bottom. Wheelchair ‘seats’ are at the top. People were complaining about having to move so I could get through,” she wrote in an email to the CDT.

When they did get to their seats, she said there were only two seats for people to sit in and two empty spaces — not enough for her group of four people.

“There were no chairs and if you wanted a chair you had to go down 2 levels to get one,” Ramer wrote.

Petersen said they apologize to those impacted.

“We want all of our patrons to enjoy their time at Beaver Stadium. We had ADA accommodations to be in compliance with standards set for our building,” Petersen said.

Ramer said she won’t attend any future Beaver Stadium concerts.

“We will never attend another concert at the stadium,” she said. “I paid way too much money for the concert experience to suck.”

The next non-football event planned at the stadium is the Hoppy Valley Brewers Fest, which will take place next week. The 21 years and older event will feature close to 75 breweries on the field, in addition to about 10 food vendors on May 11.