The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau’s work organizing the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley was recently recognized with a competitive statewide grant.
Centre County’s tourism promotion agency received a $70,000 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Sports Tourism and Marketing Program (STAMP).
The program was created last year, and this marked the first fiscal year that funding was awarded. HVAB was one of only three organizations to receive a grant.
Fritz Smith, HVAB president and CEO, told the Centre County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that the money will be used to offset costs from the July 2 event as planning begins for the half-Ironman’s return to the area in 2024.
“We thought there’d be pretty steep competition when you look at some of the big events that happen in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,” Smith said. “We had a couple naysayers who said well they’ll get all the money and we said no let’s take a shot here. This was an event that showcased the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a pretty spectacular way. It showed the natural outdoor assets that we have in central Pennsylvania, and it’s going to create great economic impact.”
The triathlon was widely considered a success and is the only Ironman event in Pennsylvania.
A survey of competitors scored it a 92 out of 100.
“It’s not the highest that Ironman has ever received, but it’s pretty close,” Smith said.
Drawing thousands of visitors to the area, it was a boon to the local economy at a traditionally slow time of year in late June and early July, before festival season kicks into gear.
“We’ve always said we needed a June activity to bring people here, and so Ironman really fit the bill in a lot of ways,” Smith said. “It brought a lot of people here. It brought some business to our hotels, our Airbnbs, our bed and breakfasts in June at a time when they really needed it, in the week leading up to July 4.”
He added that final economic impact numbers are expected to be released the week of Sept. 18, but that hotel and Airbnb airbnb revenue alone were nearly $1 million higher than the same time in 2022.
Smith also thanked the commissioners and other local officials for their support.
“We were really pleased that all three commissioners were willing to sign a letter of support to DCED as they were analyzing these grant opportunities, as well as Representatives [Paul] Takac and [Kerry] Benninghoff sent letters of support, and I think all of those were very meaningful and impactful, so I thank you for that.”
Commissioner Amber Concepcion said the grant was a reflection on the efforts of the HVAB and the local community.
“Receiving this grant really speaks to the quality of staff that you have that have helped with this event and the extent to which the community really pulled together to make it a success,” she stated,” she said. “I think this really reflects well on your organization.”
Commissioner Steve Dershem agreed that the grant was well earned.
“It’s a lot of work putting on an event of this scale, and it’s very expensive at the same time,” Dershem said. “So recognizing all of the work that your organization put in and 1,100 volunteers, that speaks amazingly well of our area and our county.”
Smith also commended the many volunteers and nearly three dozen local agencies who supported the event.
“I would be remiss in not thanking the many police, EMS and fire departments and the many municipal officials from all over Centre and Clinton counties who helped to make it happen. The cooperation was just super-fantastic.”
The 2024 Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley is scheduled for June 30.
The DCED awarded $5 million in grant money this year through the STAMP Program, which “was created to attract high-quality, amateur, and professional sporting and e-sports events to Pennsylvania, according to a news release.
The Happy Valley Ironman 70.3 was in prestigious company.
Philadelphia Soccer was awarded $2.5 million for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and the United States Golf Association was awarded a total of $2.43 million for the 2025 U.S. Men’s Open at Oakmont Country Club and for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at the Lancaster Country Club.
To be eligible for the program, applicants are required to be a municipality, a local authority a non-profit organization, or a legal entity that meets the following criteria:
- The applicant participates or plans to participate ina competitive selection process.
- The site selection process is conducted by a site selection organization not located in Pennsylvania.
- The applicant is seeking to secure a single-year or multiyear commitment from a site selection organization to conduct high quality, amateur and professional sporting or esports events at one or more locations in Pennsylvania.
Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.
