Crews have been busy at work the past couple of days to transform the home of Penn State’s Nittany Lion football team into a full-blown concert venue. 

“Right now, what’s going on…is lighting is all being installed, the audio, video and scenic elements, and things like that,” Basis Entertainment Production Manager Bryan Lewis said.

While thousands of fans will fill the stadium, approximately 7,000 fans are expected to be on the field alone. With that many people on the ground, flooring was put down to protect the grass. 

“So the whole, everything will be covered. And the areas that aren’t covered will be barricaded, so you can’t go onto the grass,” Basis Entertainment President and CEO Gary DeWaard said. 

Most football stadiums were never built to hold a full-scale concert, so Basis Entertainment crews have had to work around some obstacles.  

“The load in is challenging just because of the tunnel access and the height restrictions makes it challenging. And then the…load in is on the opposite side of where the stage is so the distance, it’s a lot of equipment as you can see behind there,” DeWaard said.   

Officials said stage set up usually takes up until the day of the concert be completed but the Happy Valley Jam stage is expected to be done by 5 p.m. on Friday for a private event. 

DeWaard said it’s great to be part of the stadium’s first concert.  

“It is amazing. Its never happened before so to be part of that…it’s hard to explain but it’s really, really cool,” he said.  

With high-profile events like Happy Valley Jam, a clear bag policy and mandatory metal detector screenings will be in place for Saturday