UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has announced that historic wet conditions over the past few weeks on the University Park campus have resulted in significant damage to drive aisles and grass parking lots. For the safety of fans, to prevent further damage to intramural fields and Ag fields, as well as fans’ personal vehicles, the majority of the grass parking lots will be unavailable for Saturday’s noon contest with Wisconsin.
The ORV, Pink lots and a portion of the reserved Stadium North (Green) lot are the only grass lots that will be available for the Wisconsin game.
Fans who normally park a car or RV in paved lots will be unaffected. Permit holders with a white stripe through their permit have a paved parking space, which are not impacted by this Saturday’s lot closures.
Intercollegiate Athletics utilizes several intramural fields for football parking among its game day lots, and parking vehicles on those fields will continue to cause more damage with fall intramural sports still in progress for Penn State students. Additionally, ICA utilizes multiple fields operated by the College of Agricultural Sciences for game day parking, which also have been damaged over the course of season, with the greatest impact occurring during the Oct. 27 Iowa game.
Shuttle service
Six free shuttle routes, in addition to CATA from Lot Red A, will be available from off-campus lots to Beaver Stadium starting at 8 a.m. Saturday until 60 minutes after the conclusion of the game. The shuttles will drop off and pick up fans on University Drive. The list of routes is available here.
A color and route number have been established for each shuttle route and fans will receive a wristband that corresponds with their shuttle. More shuttle information and an interactive parking map will be announced by Wednesday and posted at GoPSUsports.com for the Wisconsin game.
No gameday (Yellow) parking available on campus; fans should park downtown State College or at Grange Park
Fans who have a gameday (Yellow) parking permit will not be permitted to park in the lots near Beaver Stadium or in any campus parking lots and are asked to park in one of the lots listed here.
Fans who still need gameday parking should park in a downtown State College parking lot/deck or park at Grange Park and take a shuttle (see shuttle options here).
Fans are being asked to avoid bringing an RV for the Wisconsin game, unless the RV parking is on pavement or in the ORV lot, and urged to carpool or use the CATA, Fullington and Penn State shuttle services. Those fans who can walk to the stadium — particularly students — should do so.
Patrons who park in the Stadium North (Green) lot who have permits numbered 1-399 will need to utilize the alternative parking options listed here. All parking lots, on and off campus, will open Saturday at 7 a.m. Pre-paid parking permits will be honored at all off-site lots.
Parking options for fans who don't have a pre-paid or advance parking permit
Fans who don't have a pre-paid or advance parking permit for the Wisconsin game are encouraged to carpool or consider other options to get to Beaver Stadium, including:
- CATA Game Day Shuttle – two routes to Beaver Stadium (catabus.com)
- Fullington Tours operates the Penn State Football Express with three shuttle lines ($10 round-trip exact change only; fullingtontours.com/pages/psu_football_shuttles)
- Several downtown parking garages have hourly rates, including the Beaver Avenue, Fraser Street, McAllister Street and Pugh Street Garages, on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans can walk from the garages, take the CATA Game Day Shuttle or CATA Blue or White Loop to Beaver Stadium;
- Uber (drop off and pick up locations near stadium);
- Grange Park (cars-$10 to park; RVs-$60 in advance; $75 at the gate to park). Free round-trip shuttle (via Cole Transportation) to Beaver Stadium.
Record rainfall in State College area this year and during football season
It has been a historically wet year, summer and fall in the State College area, with all the rainfall leading to the decision to close grass parking lots for the Wisconsin game. According to Penn State’s Department of Meteorology, whose records date to 1887, the University Park campus has experienced the:
- Wettest year on record (as of Nov. 1)
- Wettest summer on record
- Third-wettest fall on record (as of Nov. 1)
According to AccuWeather, the University Park campus received 13.13 inches of rain in September and October, nearly double the normal amount of 6.6 inches.