With one month to go before first Beaver Stadium concert, what challenges remain?

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – One month from today Beaver Stadium will be transformed for the first-ever concert in the stadium and with it comes a huge test to see how ticket sales go and what the experience is like for concertgoers.

With a seating capacity around 70,000 for the Happy Valley Jam, based off the countless advertisements heard on radio stations in every corner of this state while traveling within the past month it would seem likely that there is still a way to go before the concert crowd for Blake Shelton hits that desired capacity.

A quick scan through Ticketmaster shows plenty of available seats for the show, that is if people are willing to pay the $62-$167 price tag for a ticket. Add in parking prices ranging from $25-$40 per car and the likelihood of a hotel given the 4 p.m. start with multiple acts – with many hotels charging similar pricing to that of a home football weekend – and there are many variables at play.



“Talking to the promoter, Basis Entertainment, they’re very pleased with where sales were at compared to where sales were at at Iowa and the concert they recently had at Auburn and at Florida State,” Phil Esten said last month during the coaches caravan. Esten, Penn State's Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer, said promotions would be ramped up in the month following the caravan. “We’re doing well against with what they saw there. I don’t know exactly where the ticket number is right now, but they’ve been very pleased.”

The increased promotion of the event appears to have happened since it’s been difficult to find a radio station that hasn’t mentioned something about the Happy Valley Jam, whether in Harrisburg, Allentown, Altoona or elsewhere, while also seeing the occasional sign on a billboard along the highway.

One noticeable difference between this concert and the one at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium, which was also done by Basis Entertainment, is the capacity for the Happy Valley Jam. Kinnick was looking to sell around 50,000 tickets for their capacity and did so, whereas Penn State’s capacity is set around 70,000. That’s a big difference, especially in a location where people from Pittsburgh or Philadelphia are facing at least a 2.5-hour drive, which could make for a tough sell.

When Shelton performed a free concert in Atlantic City on the beach in 2014 the capacity was capped around 60,000. Again, there were fewer costs associated with that for fans given the free cost of admission.

When Ohio State held the first concert in The Horseshoe in 12 years in 2015 it went with the Rolling Stones, who played to a crowd of more than 60,000, which was the desired capacity. According to Columbus Business First that show brought in around $600,000 for Ohio State.

Given the success of The Stones at The Shoe it paved the way for Ohio State to launch the Buckeye Country Superfest, which will be held in the stadium this weekend for the third time, as part of a three-year agreement between Ohio State and Festival Productions Inc.

While Penn State’s go around with Basis Entertainment is of the one-time variety, and is a huge way to test the water for future events, the Ohio State two-day event has been so successful that it now features big-time country stars with ticket prices ranging from $80-$500 for a two-day ticket.

This year’s acts include Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Kip Moore, Jana Kramer and others. That’s drastically different than the one night Beaver Stadium lineup, featuring Shelton, Chris Young, Big & Rich and David Ray. Plus, Columbus has the advantage in location because it’s not as isolated as State College and therefore has more options in terms of hotels, restaurants and all else that goes into making a two-day festival. Down the road maybe -- and it's a huge maybe -- that type of festival could be something that happens at Penn State, but first they have to start with a much smaller scale.

Among the many unknowns for the show in State College is how the stage will be configured plus the acoustics, which is never a given when dealing with a football stadium (yes, I’m thinking of you Lincoln Financial Field). During the initial concert announcement in the fall it was announced that an estimated 8,000 seats would be set up on the field. Given the massive videoboards in the stadium that too certainly could enhance the viewing experience.

What is the benchmark financially for Penn State to attempt to do such an event again? Well, that much Penn State athletic officials wouldn’t share, but Esten added that Penn State continues looking into using Beaver Stadium for future events, whether it’s another concert, international soccer or professional hockey.

While upgrades to Beaver Stadium aren’t slated to happen within the first 5 years of Penn State’s facility master plan Esten said that potentially other events could still happen in the stadium before the upgrades are complete. Esten mentioned FIFA’s “flexible” guidelines regarding field dimensions, which could make it among the next wave of events to potentially happen in the stadium in hopes of using the facility more than a handful of times per year for football.

Perhaps one of the biggest questions surrounding the Happy Valley Jam will be the sale of beer, which will be available at concession stands for the first time ever in Beaver Stadium. This has long been a sticking point for Penn State when it comes to football games, which besides the suites will continue to not offer alcohol sales. There’s no telling if Penn State will change course on this in the coming years for football since it’s slowly started to do so first at trial shows in the Bryce Jordan Center – which Penn State does not own – and then with beer sales for this show.

But, at a campus where alcohol-related issues continue to be problematic from Greek Life to tailgating, whether or not beer sales inside the venue for the concert could cut down on binge drinking in the parking lots will surely be examined.

Heck, this concert could even be a rare opportunity prior to football season for the new security provider, Whelan security, to work through stadium entry procedures. Whelan won the bid in the offseason to be the new provider and was in place for the Blue-White Game, Esten said. Needing to improve lengthy security lines that were problematic last season as Penn State began wanding fans while they entered, this could be a chance to work on bettering that process.

Of course there's still a ways to go until this concert and all that surrounds it falls into place, but do know that there will be plenty of eyes on how it unfolds because moving forward that 100,000-plus seat stadium will have to continue to be used more than a half dozen times per year.