Oh, and did I mention that his Lego stadium is on display at Penn State’s All-Sports Museum for hundreds of thousands of Penn State fans to see?

“Everyone still has imagination” said Gourley, 32, a 2015 Penn State graduate. “It only takes a second to think about it. With a bunch of (Lego) bricks, you can build a billion things with them. »

It’s the same with any hobby or craft, he says, like woodworking or pottery. “Whatever you can think of, you can build” he added.

Gourley’s Beaver Stadium replica is built entirely out of Legos – comprising 7,647 pieces – and is based on the configuration of the stadium from 2001 to present.

The Lego Stadium was unveiled Saturday, July 27, at the Penn State All-Sports Museum and will remain on permanent display in the museum lobby.

Thanks to a $2,500 donation to the museum, Gourley was able to build the Lego model of the football stadium. In 2022, he founded his own design and content creation company, called Back 2 Brick.

Gourley got the idea to create a Lego version of Beaver Stadium after the brick maker introduced a series of football stadiums. He had also seen a version of Ohio State’s Ohio State Stadium built of bricks.

When Gourley began working on the project, he divided the stadium into sections and created a digital design. Once this was completed, he built a test model of the stadium to verify the stability of the design.

Even though Gourley has been a Lego fan since a young age, don’t think for a second that this is an average build.

Unlike most Lego models, Gourley glued his bricks together, so they had to be precise. And it was, according to him, “I took the test and then stuck it in.” he remembers. “Ninety-five percent were perfect.”

Gourley focused much of his efforts on architecture and engineering when constructing the stadium. And when he finished – about 98 hours later – he had a stunning replica of Beaver Stadium. The actual IT design phase took about 200 hours, he said.

“I’ve loved Legos my whole life.” Gourley explained. “I love creating a building with Lego. It’s something I do daily and I just think it gives people an outlet for their creativity.

When Beaver Stadium was about to undergo a renovation, Gourley decided to build his replica based on the current version of Beaver Stadium.

“It changes life” added Gourley of his Lego stadium display at the museum. “I’ve always wanted to have my name in that stadium with Penn State and know that people are going to come and enjoy it, see the little tips and tricks that I have hidden in the model and see their memories brought back from when they were here. It’s really incredible.

The project took so long to build because Gourley tried to get every detail right, down to the last brick.

“I took a lot of photos when I was here for football games, a lot of Google Earth and a lot of my own history with this one,” » said Gourley. “You’ll see the rock that’s outside the student section and the cars with the tailgating tents. And I just thought it needed to be as detailed as possible because the goal is for people to be able to see it and remember the exact moment they were there.

He was overwhelmed by the fans’ reaction.

“It’s been so positive.” » said Gourley. “I’m really proud of my accomplishment. Friends came to me and said, “I can’t believe you did that.” »

He and most of his immediate relatives – father, sister, uncle, cousin and wife – graduated from Penn State, so there is a lot of Leo pride in the family. “We’re all big Penn State fans.” Gourley added.

Lew Lazarow, executive director of the Penn State All Sports Museum, loves adding unique items and he couldn’t wait to add Gourley’s Lego Stadium to the museum’s collection.

“Beaver Stadium is iconic. It’s a place that all of us Penn Staters love,” Lazarow explained. “It’s a place where we feel at home. So for people to be able to come and see it rendered in this way and especially render it in Legos and for it to be completely unique, there’s no other one like this in the entire world.

The Penn State All-Sports Museum is located in the southwest corner of Beaver Stadium and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.