As Nittany Antique Machinery Show Celebrates 52nd Year, Its Future at Penn’s Cave Is Uncertain Amid Lease Dispute

Organizers of local antique machinery shows held for more than half a century filed on Wednesday for a preliminary injunction against Penn’s Cave and Wildlife Park Court amid a dispute over their lease renewal for the Gregg Township property.

The Nittany Antique Machinery Association says Penn’s Cave is not negotiating a five-year lease renewal option in good-faith, instead proposing a one-year term with a substantial increase in rent and new conditions.

NAMA has hosted shows at Penn’s Cave since 1975 and its current five-year lease expires at the end of this year. Its 52nd annual fall show kicked off on Thursday and continues through Sunday.

“We are asking our community to understand what is at stake,” Preston Weaver, NAMA’s 2nd vice president, said in a statement on Wednesday. “This is about much more than a piece of property or a lease. It is about preserving a tradition that began here in 1975, educating young people about our agricultural heritage, and providing a place where families and generations of machinery enthusiasts can come together.”

NAMA’s lease includes a five-year renewal option based on mutually agreeable terms that the organization notified Penn’s Cave in July it planned to exercise.

In a Sept. 1 letter, Penn’s Cave attorney Thomas Schrack, wrote that his client acknowledged “a provision concerning a possible renewal of the lease,” and was willing to negotiate a new term of no more than one year, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2027.

Schrack said the future plans for the property are a “strong consideration” in negotiating a new lease.

The Schleiden family, who own Penn’s Cave, have been working with local and state officials on a potential deal for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources acquire the 1,400-acre property and maintain it as a state park. In July, state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, who is backing the state park effort, said that the Schleidens also have heard from private developers interested in buying the property.

“Although there is no specific timetable at this point for a potential sale date, given this uncertainty regarding future ownership of the leased premises, my client is unable to commit to a long-term lease that would bind any future owner of the property,” Schrack wrote. “As I am sure your client can appreciate, any long-term lease encumbering the property would significantly impact any future sale.”

The proposal also would increase NAMA’s rent to $80,000 for the year, more than double the organization’s current base rate. It would further impose a new security deposit and new requirements for event security, the latter of which NAMA says Penn’s Cave invoked for this week’s fall show, even though it is not a condition of the current lease.

Show organizers further noted that they NAMA has “made significant investments in its buildings, equipment and improvements at the property over the years,” as allowed by the lease.

“We respect Penn’s Cave and its ownership of the property,” Doug Leitch, president of NAMA, said. “We simply believe that a tradition that has brought so much to our community for 51 years deserves the opportunity to continue. We hope Penn’s Cave will work with us to find a solution.”

NAMA is seeking a preliminary injunction preventing Penn’s Cave from evicting the organization or obstructing its access to the property and from imposing new conditions pending resolution of the lease dispute. It also asks for Penn’s Cave to be directed to participate in good-faith negotiations without insisting that a one-year lease is the only possible outcome.

The organization has asked for an expedited hearing. No date has been set as of early Thursday afternoon.

Penn’s Cave did not respond to an email seeking comment on Thursday.