Athletics

Parking, traffic information announced for Auburn game, 'College GameDay'

Penn State football will host Auburn at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at Beaver Stadium. Gates will open at 5 p.m., and fans are encouraged to arrive early. Credit: Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State football will host Auburn at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at Beaver Stadium. Gates will open at 5 p.m., and fans are encouraged to arrive early. Penn State Transportation Services has announced the following parking, traffic and transit adjustments ahead of the game and for ESPN "College GameDay," which will air live from University Park on Saturday. 

ESPN 'College GameDay'  

ESPN's "College GameDay" show will air from the Old Main lawn on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. To accommodate setup for the program, the following road closures and parking adjustments will be in place:

  • Pollock Road will be closed between Fraser Road and Henderson Drive beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday through 6 p.m. Saturday. The closure will extend from Burrowes Road to Shortlidge Road on Saturday.
  • The Old Main parking lot will be closed from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday to provide a staging area for ESPN production vehicles. ROO permit holders who normally park at Old Main will be temporarily reassigned to the section of Brown A parking located behind Willard Building.  
  • The Brown A parking area behind Willard Building will be reserved for ROO permits only, except for ADA and reserved spaces, from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. All vehicles, including department vehicles, must be removed from this lot by Tuesday evening. Overflow parking for Brown A permit holders will be available at the Nittany Deck. 
  • The Brown C parking area will be closed from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. ROO, LOO and ADA access will remain available through Friday, as will access to reserved spaces. The lot will be closed for ESPN access only on Saturday. Access to the Brown B parking area will remain available for Brown B permit holders through the normal entrance to Brown C through Friday.
  • Due to Saturday's extended closure of Pollock Road between Burrowes Road and Pollock Road, the Brown B and Brown E parking areas also will be closed to all users on Saturday through 6 p.m. Permit holders in need of parking during these hours should park at the Eisenhower or Nittany decks. Any University departments with vehicles parked in these lots that may need to access them during these hours must relocate their vehicles to another parking area prior to midnight Friday night. 

Penn State is making the following transportation and parking recommendations for fans who plan to attend "College GameDay." The Beaver Stadium parking lots will open at 8 a.m. 

Students:

  • Students who live on campus are encouraged to walk to Old Main lawn or take the CATA White or Blue Loop bus and walk from stops on Burrowes Street or the Schlow Library on Beaver Avenue (White) or intersection of College Avenue and Allen Street (Blue).
  • Students who live off campus and State College residents are encouraged to walk to Old Main or take the CATA bus and walk from the Schlow Library stop on Beaver Avenue.

Students and fans who plan to park near 'College GameDay' location:

  • On campus: Paid parking is available at the HUB, Eisenhower, East, Nittany and West decks (no charge with a valid Penn State parking permit).
  • Downtown: There are three downtown parking garages that are within three blocks of the Old Main lawn that have hourly rates: the Beaver Avenue Garage, the Fraser Street Garage, and the Pugh Street Garage. Metered street parking also is available downtown.

Fans who plan to park in Beaver Stadium lots and attend GameDay:

  • Fans who have a Beaver Stadium parking permit and plan to park in their game day space and then attend "College GameDay" are encouraged to walk to Old Main (1.3 miles) or take the CATA White or Blue Loop bus to downtown and walk (two to three blocks).
  • Fans can pick up the CATA White Loop near the northbound lane of University Drive, just south of the intersection with Hastings Road and outside Gate D of the Bryce Jordan Center. The White Loop also stops in front of the Intramural Building and makes three more stops as it heads west on Curtin Road. Fans can walk from Schlow Library to Old Main.
  • Fans can pick up the CATA Blue Loop on Curtin Road in front of McCoy Natatorium and Shields Building and walk from the intersection of College Avenue and Allen Street to Old Main.

Football game parking

Football parking areas near Beaver Stadium (between Bigler Road and Mount Nittany Medical Center) are managed by Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics and require a football permit, which are only valid in their assigned lot. For more information, visit gopsusports.com, call 1-800-NITTANY, or email golions@psu.edu. 

Additional on-campus parking on football game days is available through Penn State Transportation Services at the following locations:

  • EastHUB and Nittany decks: $40 (payable by credit card upon exiting at pay-on-foot or in-lane machines).
  • Eisenhower Deck: $40 (cash only paid upon entering).
  • West Deck: $25 (payable by credit card upon exiting at pay-on-foot or in-lane machines).

Tailgating is strictly prohibited at campus parking decks.

Standard parking rates ($1 per hour) will apply for the first two hours of parking at the East, HUB, Nittany and West decks on Saturday, after which the event rates will take effect. Event parking at campus parking decks is permitted through 6 p.m. Sunday.

Weekend visitor parking

Weekend event parking rates are in effect for overnight parking on home football game weekends beginning on Thursday. Visitors wishing to park overnight must park at the East, HUB, Nittany or West decks. Overnight visitor parking is prohibited at all other parking areas.

Standard parking rates ($1 per hour/$12 daily maximum fee) will apply for the first 24 hours parked, after which the following event weekend rates will take effect and be due upon exiting each facility:

  • Thursday arrival: $50.
  • Friday arrival: $45.

Visitors arriving on Friday may also park at the Eisenhower Deck beginning at 5 p.m. for $45, payable through ParkMobile (zone number 95110).

Weekend event parking is permitted through 6 p.m. Sunday.

Game day parking closures/faculty, staff and student parking access

The following campus parking lots will close at midnight Friday night in advance of Saturday's home football game:

  • Commuter lots (Jordan East, Stadium West, Porter North)
  • Porter South
  • Orange L (all sections)
  • Yellow H (all sections)
  • Yellow M
  • Yellow V
  • Orange A OPP (east and west)
  • Orange A Katz
  • Orange B Softball
  • Orange H (all sections located north of Hastings Road)
  • Orange O Park Ave.
  • Silver G
  • Silver J (all sections)

In addition to these areas, the east half of Lot Orange U located just east of USB I and II will also be reserved beginning at midnight Friday night.

All vehicles, including department vehicles, must be removed from these areas no later than midnight Friday night. Access to these areas will reopen after outbound football traffic has ended.

On home football Saturdays, faculty/staff parking permits are honored at all faculty/staff parking lots located west of Bigler Road, and student parking permits are honored at all areas located west of Bigler Road that normally allow student parking on weekends (see the lots highlighted in yellow with the E/W symbol on the student parking interactive map).

For a more convenient exit from campus after the football game and to provide greater capacity for visitors at the parking decks, faculty/staff and student permit holders are encouraged to use surface parking areas instead of parking decks on football game days.

Email parking@psu.edu or call 814-865-1436 for more information related to on-campus parking managed by Penn State Transportation Services.

Increased fine amounts for parking violations on event weekends

Drivers are reminded that all vehicles must be parked within all lines of a legal, nonreserved parking space. Vehicles parked on the roadways, curbside ends of rows, etc. are subject to ticketing and/or towing at the owner's expense. All parking areas require either head-in parking or for the vehicle to be parked so that the license plate faces the drive aisle. Please check lot entrance signage for the requirement for each parking area. All space-specific signage, such as ADA, service and reserved spaces, remain in effect and are strictly enforced. In addition, increased fine amounts are in place for campus visitors parked in violation of University parking regulations during designated event weekends.

Traffic restrictions

Beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, one-way traffic patterns and traffic restrictions will go into effect on Park Avenue, Porter Road and other roadways near Beaver Stadium. Those attending the game with a prepaid football parking permit must follow the route assigned for their parking area and parking zone. Visit Penn State's Game Day Parking and Traffic site for more information.

Access to the East Parking Deck and Orange faculty/staff parking areas located north of Services Road will only be available by traveling eastbound on Park Avenue from Atherton Street. Except for permit holders attempting to access these areas, Park Avenue should be used only by football permit holders with West Zone (traveling eastbound on Park from Atherton Street) and East Zone (traveling westbound on Park from I-99/322) parking. Traffic on Porter Road will be limited only to football permit holders with South Zone parking.

Curtin Road will be closed between Bigler Road and Porter Road throughout the day.

Faculty, staff and students attempting to access central campus parking areas should do so by traveling northbound on Shortlidge Road or Burrowes Road from College Avenue. Traffic on and near campus will be heavy and unnecessary vehicle travel is discouraged. Drivers traveling to campus should allow extra time to reach their destination.

Transit service and adjustments

CATA's Blue Loop, White Loop, and Red Link service will operate on home football Saturdays, but with the following adjustments to service:

  • Blue Loop: From the bus stop at College Avenue and Allen Street the Blue Loop will follow normal routing to Curtin Road where it will turn right on Bigler Road and right on Pollock Road where it will resume normal routing.
  • White Loop: From the bus stop at Beaver Avenue and Allen Street the White Loop will follow normal routing to University Drive where it will turn left on Hastings Road, right on Bigler Road, and left on Curtin Road where it will resume normal routing.
  • Red Link from West Campus to Innovation Park: The Red Link traveling to Innovation Park will follow normal routing on Curtin Road where it will turn right on Bigler Road, left on Hastings Road, right on University Drive, right via exit ramp to College Avenue, right on College Avenue, left onto 322 west, right via exit ramp to Park Avenue where it will travel to Mt. Nittany Medical Center and resume normal outbound routing to Innovation Park.
  • Red Link from Innovation Park to West Campus: The Red Link traveling to West Campus will service Innovation Park and travel 322 east to College Avenue, turn right on College Avenue, right on University Drive, left on Hastings Road, right on Bigler Road, left on Curtin Road where it will resume normal routing to West Campus.

CATA will again be operating game day football shuttles to provide transportation to and from each Penn State football home game. Visit the CATA website for information on routing, stops, hours of operation and fares.

Email catabus@cata.com or call 814-238-CATA for more information on CATA campus and community transit service. Real-time bus information and arrival predictions are also available through the myStop and Penn State Go apps.

Last Updated September 22, 2021