Penn State football to return to full capacity for 2021 season

Add the Penn State Nittany Lions to the growing list of top-tier football entities planning for a return to normalcy this year. 

Penn State vice president for intercollegiate athletics Sandy Barbour confirmed Tuesday that the lifting of statewide health and safety protocols will allow Beaver Stadium to operate at 100% capacity for the 2021 season. 

"We are excited to welcome our 107K strong back in Beaver Stadium and full capacity at our other athletics venues this fall with the adjustments in university, local, state and CDC guidance," Barbour said in the prepared statement. "Our fans are a true home field advantage for all of our teams and the 2020-21 season was not the same without them in our venues. We are so appreciative of the tremendous support of our donors and fans, especially during these challenging times, to allow us to continue to provide our more than 800 students-athletes with the conditions they need for success!"

The Penn State announcement added that tailgating and other traditional aspects of football gamedays will also return. PSU is shifting fully to mobile tickets for all sports and reducing physical contact points at venues. 

It's believed every NFL team will be cleared to open stadiums at full capacities when preseason games kick off in August barring nationwide setbacks related to coronavirus variants.