Penn State Football Has ‘Tremendous Impact’ On State College, Centre County Economy

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions aren’t the only ones who have been preparing for Saturday’s big game with Ohio State.

Thousands of fans and alumni will descend on Happy Valley this weekend, sending shock waves of economic impact rolling through State College and beyond. Businesses have been bracing themselves, with every industry from retail to hospitality preparing for crowds of the Penn State faithful.

“With a Big Ten football game like Ohio State, we’re seeing all the hotels are basically sold out, which is good thing: those people, in turn, have to eat somewhere, they’ll probably head downtown for a bit of shopping, and they’ll stop at a local gas station on the way out of town,” says Centre County Visitors Center Executive Director Betsey Howell.

Lesley Kistner, communications director with the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, says it’s hard to underestimate what a “tremendous impact” Penn State athletics have on State College and the surrounding area.

As an example, Kistner points to a Penn State study on the economic impact of its athletic programs on the area from 2009. It found that Centre County alone saw over $90 million in business impact from Penn State sports.

The amazing thing, Kistner says, is just how far this impact extends. It’s not uncommon, especially for a big game like Ohio State, for visitors to State College to overflow out into the surrounding counties: Clinton, Clearfield, Blair and Huntingdon County hotels all routinely see increased business for Penn State football games.

“Sometimes, we’ve had to help people find hotel rooms as far away as the Harrisburg area for a big game,” Howell says.

Kirssy Tribbet, a manager with The Tavern downtown, says the popular restaurant “knows how to deal with football weekends at this point.” Having been in business since 1948, it’s had a lot of practice.

Restaurant management adjusts hours of operation based on what time the game starts,  bringing extra staff in to help manage the onslaught of customers.

“It’s almost a tradition, since people have been coming here for so long,” Tribbet says. “I’ve had people tell me they sat at this exact table as students, or I have couples tell me they used to come here on date nights in college.”

Brian Cohen, owner of Harper’s Fine Clothing for Men, says his business sees more foot traffic and sales each home football weekend. Though their location on College Avenue doesn’t hurt, he says the store has actually built up a loyal customer base of fans who are only in town football weekends.

The increased sales aren’t the only thing about home games Cohen says he enjoys.  He loves talking to graduates from across the decades, many of whom tell Cohen they bought their first suit at Harpers years before.

“People seem really enthusiastic this year,” Cohen says. “A lot of that definitely has to do with the new coach, I think. Franklin and his staff are very happy and enthusiastic, and people like to be around happy people.”

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