BELLEFONTE — The 2023 Ironman 70.3 Triathlon was a rousing success in Centre County, so it should come as no surprise that it was recently recognized by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration.
During the Sept. 12 Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting, it was announced that the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau was awarded $70,000 for the 2023 Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in State College. HVAB will use the funds to help offset expenses associated with marketing, site fees, on-site hospitality and general costs that pertain to conducting the event.
HVAB CEO Fritz Smith talked about the significance of the grant.
“The (Gov.) Shapiro administration, along with DCED, decided to award a very competitive grant program — the STAMP program — to help offset costs for Ironman,” Smith said.
The grants were awarded through DCED’s Sports Marketing and Tourism Program to help bring nationally known sporting events to Pennsylvania. According to a news release, the funding builds on Shapiro’s commitment to “explore innovative initiatives that will spur economic development in the commonwealth.”
“Pennsylvania is hosting a series of incredibly exciting events in the coming years, and I’m thrilled that we can support some of them through this program,” DCED Secretary Rick Siger said in the release.
Ironman was a long time in the making, as Smith pointed out.
“About three years ago, the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau was given the opportunity to bid on the Ironman event. (We) competed against some other Pennsylvania destinations,” Smith said.
The event — which features running, cycling and swimming — took place on July 2 and competitors finished at the 50-yard line at Beaver Stadium.
According to Smith, the event provided a much-needed shot in the arm to Centre County tourism during the summer months.
“We always said we needed an activity to bring people here. Ironman really fit the bill in a lot of ways. It brought a lot of people here. It brought some business to our hotels, our Airbnbs and our bed and breakfasts at a time when they really needed it leading up to July 4,” Smith said.
Smith said that athletes who competed in Ironman gave Centre County a 92% score.
“It’s not the highest that Ironman has ever received, but it’s pretty close. I think we’ll take a 92 score,” Smith said.
In addition to Ironman being a success, it also worked as a marketing tool for Centre County.
“It showed the natural outdoor assets we have in central Pennsylvania and it created a great economic impact,” Smith said.
As far as specifics regarding economic impact, Smith said that is still a work in progress.
“We’ll have final economic impact numbers early next week and we’ll be releasing those. But suffice to say that just looking at hotel and Airbnb revenue alone, the numbers are almost one million dollars in revenue over last year at the same time. It’s pretty substantial,” Smith said.
BOC Chair Mark Higgins lauded everyone involved with Ironman.
“We had 1,100 volunteers and everyone had a great time,” Higgins said. “Again, we’d like to thank the governor and the legislature for setting up the program. There were only three grants awarded and Centre County got one of them.”
Commissioner Amber Concepcion talked about HVAB’s successes.
“I think this speaks to the quality of staff that you have who have helped with this event,” Concepcion said, “and the extent to which the community really pulled together to make it a success. This really reflects well on your organization.”
Commissioner Steve Dershem noted that all of the effort and long hours were worth it.
“It’s a lot of work putting on an event of this scale and it’s very expensive at the same time. Recognizing all of the effort that your organization put in … 1,100 volunteers speaks amazingly well of our area and our county,” Dershem said. “I’m glad we could make it happen and I look forward to seeing it again next summer.”
Ironman returns on June 30, 2024.
The Centre County BOC will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the Willowbank Building. The meeting is open to the public and will be televised live by C-NET.
