Bryce Jordan Center

Location and layout

The arena is located across the street from Beaver Stadium on Curtin Road, on the eastern part of the campus. This part of campus is home to many of the school's athletic facilities, including the recently built Medlar Field at Lubrano Park baseball facility, Pegula Ice Arena, and Jeffrey Field soccer stadium. There is a large electronic display outside the arena which provides advertisements for future events. The university also recently contracted with ANC Sports to install over 900 ft of LED ribbon board signage to be used for sponsor advertisements and game prompts.

Operations

The Jordan Center is owned by Penn State University and operated through its Auxiliary & Business Services Unit.

Notable events

• The arena hosts numerous concerts and World Wrestling Entertainment events, including RAW.
• In 1998, parts of Aerosmith's live album, A Little South of Sanity, were recorded at the Jordan Center. Lead singer Steven Tyler can be heard yelling "State College" out to the audience during "Love in an Elevator".
• In 2000, the music video for Backstreet Boys' song "The One" was filmed at the arena
• In 2001, Britney Spears played at the arena as part of her Dream Within a Dream Tour. Some performances were taped with a new technology, at the time, called First-person shooter engine and were released as bonus videos in her video game "Britney's Dance Beat", for PlayStation 2.
• On October 1, 2004, during the 2004 presidential campaign, the arena hosted the politically motivated Vote for Change Tour, featuring performances by My Morning Jacket, Jurassic 5, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, and Dave Matthews Band.
• In March 2006, the arena hosted first and second rounds of the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship. The arena also hosts the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Basketball Championships annually.
• In 2007, the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly known as THON, was moved to the Jordan Center. – The event, designed to raise money to fight pediatric cancer, raises millions of dollars every year.
• On October 13, 2008, it hosted Change Rocks: A Concert to Benefit Obama, featuring The Allman Brothers Band and four living members of Grateful Dead, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann.
• On October 20, 2018, a Metallica concert set the attendance record for the arena with 15,588 people.
• On January 27, 2023, the arena hosted 15,998 fans for the Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling match against Iowa, tying the record for the third-largest dual meet crowd in collegiate wrestling history and exceeding attendance for the Metallica concert in 2018, setting an all-time attendance record for the arena.
• On October 25, 2025, Real American Freestyle presented RAF 02 from the arena, an event that was broadcast live on Fox Nation.

References

References

1. Caldwell, Hope. (August 29, 1995). "Bryce Jordan Center on Track for Nov. 28 Opening". [[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)]].
2. Coploff, Reid. (April 23, 2004). "Backstage at the BJC". [[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)]].
3. Jones, David. (July 23, 2008). "New Message Ribbons at Beav, Jordan Center". [[The Patriot-News]].
4. (July 17, 2004). "2004 Setlists". [[Backstreets Magazine]].
5. (May 26, 2006). "Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center Awarded 2007 & 2008 PIAA Basketball Championships". Penn State Athletics.
6. (October 22, 2018). "Metallica Shreds at the Bryce Jordan Center in Front of a Record Crowd".
7. (September 22, 2025). "Jake Varner vs. Pat Downey Set for Cyclone Clash at RAF02".