With the conclusion of the Reser Stadium arriving in August 2023, Beaver fans will have more to look forward to than an improved atmosphere, extending to a seamless stadium food experience.

January 7, 2022, marked the first day of demolition at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. The implosion brought many people to the site to watch it collapse, and since then, the community has only been able to track the progress of construction from the outside. 

The $161 million project marks a point in Oregon State history that will provide both entertainment and financial stability for years to come.

Hoffman has partnered with Oregon State University, Populous, and SRG Partnership to transform Oregon State University’s Reser Stadium into a national best-in-class football facility with year-round programs and facilities for all OSU students, faculty and staff.

The new stadium will feature a Student Welcome Center which will provide an additional tour spot for prospective new students and their families when visiting the campus. Along with this, the center will show as an introduction to many excellent undergraduate and graduate degree programs that OSU has to offer.

Being built into the southeast side of Reser Stadium will be a new Campus Wellness Clinic that will provide students, faculty, staff and community members with year-round access to expanded health care and wellness services.

According to the Completing Reser Stadium website, “The clinic is anticipated to be a four-story building approximately 32,000 square feet. OSU and the healthcare partner will have shared spaces on the building’s first floor. The health care provider will lease the second floor, and OSU Student Health Services will occupy the third and fourth floors.

“This is a game changer for our football program. We want to show our recruits that Reser Stadium is intertwined within our community and campus every day of the year. As we bring families and recruits to campus, they will see the construction of the stadium and see the momentum of this program,” said Head Coach Jonathan Smith.

“By completing Reser now we ensure the long-term financial sustainability for the OSU Athletics Department and all student-athletes. Increased revenue will provide financial stability throughout OSU Athletics where 70% of the revenues required to operate 17 womens and mens varsity sports are generated from football and Reser Stadium activities,” said Oregon State V.P., Director of Athletics, Scott Barnes.

Last week, members of the Daily Barometer were able to go inside the stadium and learn more about the stadium’s progress from the Project Manager for Oregon State University, Dale Bettencourt, and Project Superintendent, Mark Rado.

With the anticipated date of finish for the Reser Stadium construction to be August 3, both Bettencourt and Rado were pleased with the progress of the build and confident that it will be finished on time. 

Both Bettencourt and Rado spent time studying civil engineering at Oregon State and found themselves managing the largest construction on campus, with 125 total members working on the site.

Fans can expect a new first-level section on the new side of Reser, called Beaver Street, which includes more restaurants and beverage locations inside the stadium rather than in the middle hallway area.

The second level will be the Club Level Section, the third level will be the Upper Concourse Level, and the fourth level is reserved for media and press box locations.

With the two of them spending time inside of Reser Stadium during their college years, they shared excitement about getting the new side of Reser built before the next football season.

“Oh ya, this side is going to be cool. Being a Beaver fan gives me more motivation to get this done,” said Bettencourt.

Having both Rado and Bettencourt together on the jobsite, it was a great opportunity to ask more questions about the difficulties or challenges through the building process.

Are there any challenges that will arise on site with the approaching fall/winter weather?

“Definitely, with the weather changing we are trying to get everything closed in. We are lucky that with each level of the stadium going up, it covers the area below. But we need to make sure that we can get whatever we need to be covered before a drastic change,” said Bettencourt.

Are there any problems that consistently come up  throughout the construction process?

“Just waiting on the steel to be delivered, Hoffman does a good job making sure we’re staffed,” said Rado.

What is going to make Reser Stadium unique from the other stadiums in the Pac-12?

“We are trying to keep it as a smaller venue, where the seats are going to be closer together,” said Rado. “Beaver Street will have a deeper concourse area than the other side of Reser, with hopes of fewer fans pushing and shoving others while walking, making it wide open for people to pass. While the restaurants that will be present are unknown currently, fans should rarely miss any big plays that occur when their fandom takes them to concessions.”