STATE COLLEGE — As of Friday, Jan. 31, we are 211 days out from the start of the next Penn State Football season. There’s no doubt local businesses, hotels and homeowners are elated about what that means for Centre County.
An EConsult Solutions study, submitted to Happy Valley Sports and Entertainment Alliance in 2022, found that Penn State football brings in $87 million dollars annually in visitor spending and economic impact. The money supported more than 930 jobs with $26.3 million in employee compensation.
In 2024 this number is even higher due to the home playoff game Beaver Stadium hosted in December.
A large part of the said spending is lodging of the visitors. In 2022, the Penn State football games attracted about 890,500 attendees. The number is expected to be around 107,000 higher in 2024.
With the influx of visitors during football weekends, hotel rates around the county rise. EConsult Solutions found that in 2021 the average night for a hotel in Centre County was $127. This number nearly tripled to $360 dollars a night when the football team had a home game.
In some cases, such as a White Out or playoff game, hotels can run you $1,000 a night in State College. In 2024, Centre County was No. 11 in the state overall in hotel room revenue, just a few million dollars off a top 10 spot.
Downtown clothing stores, restaurants around Centre County and the transportation industry also all see benefits.
The money does not stop flowing into the county when the football season ends, though. The study also found that, combined, sports related events generated approximately $417 million dollars for Centre County, supporting 4,315 jobs with $133 million in employee compensation in 2022.
That means Penn State Football only accounts for around 20 percent of economic impact in a given year. So, what else boosts the Centre County economy throughout the year?
Well to start, other Penn State athletic teams. Outside of football, Penn State sports bring in around 666,500 visitors while generating $181 million in economic impact annually.
Basketball, wrestling and hockey lead the way in terms of visitor generation, but lacrosse, soccer and volleyball are not far behind.
The benefits of a lucrative athletics program are endless. Media exposure and spending provide outlets for revenue-generation and image-building for local businesses, donations from Penn State, Alumni put money into the Centre County economy and repeat visitation helps build a steady stream of consumers in the area.
Teams and events unaffiliated with Penn State also rack in money for Centre County, though.
In 2022, the State College Spikes, a summer baseball team in the MLB Draft League, brought in 92,450 attendees. While most of these are students or locals, the money spent at the game is still pumped into the local economy.
A large part of the economic impact, after all, comes from money spent on employees and goods and services in support of venue operations and events.
Other Centre County recreational facilities such as C3 Sports, Nittany Valley Sports Centre and the Tussey Mountainback see some numbers.
One event that the study does not account for is the Happy Valley Ironman, which began in 2023. The estimated economic impact for the 2024 edition of the race was $3.2 million on the local community.
Events such as this are starting to become more and more popular in Centre County. In 2024 the county also had its largest concert since 2017 when Beaver Stadium hosted Luke Combs’ “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” tour.
While this is not technically a sporting event, it used an athletic facility to host it. With the $700 million Beaver Stadium revitalization, concerts and other sporting events will have the ability to go year round.
