By MIKE FRAZIER
correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
CENTRE HALL — Fall Saturdays at Penn State means football, pledging fraternities and tailgating at the stadium.
But tailgating has now pushed into the outlying area as well as Centre Hall has become a hotbed of tailgating on Penn State football Saturdays.
Several years ago (2017), PSU was trying to figure out how it was going to find 400 new RV parking spaces near the stadium.
Because new construction had just eliminated the same number of spaces, officials were on the hunt to replace them.
Someone, most likely a Grange Fair attendee, suggested the university call the Grange Fair administration in Centre Hall and ask if it could help. The fairground accommodates 1,500 RVs during the annual fair, which takes place in mid-August.
Therefore, the Penn State people figured, if the grounds could park 1,500 RVs in August, it surely could host 400 RVs for five or six weekends in the fall.
Darlene Confer, Grange Fair manager, said she was more than happy to bring in the extra revenue and introduce new populations to the fair and its location.
In the past, the fairgrounds played host to many different camping/ RV groups who would hold their multi-day rallies at the park. For many years, this writer’s parents, who belonged to several national camping groups, would move their RV a block and a half from their home in Centre Hall to Grange Park.
They then would attend a three-day rally that would draw fellow group members from all over the northeast United States. They and their friends would have dinners together and enjoy the entertainment planned for the RV group.
Confer said the RV group rallies have been declining, and the revenue from the Penn State campers has somewhat made up for it.
Two couples, Kevin and Suzan Culver and Jane and Todd Rice, who came in for the recent Minnesota White Out game and for homecoming, said they feel very safe parking at Grange Park. The Culvers are full time RVers, and this was their second season tailgating in Centre Hall.
Both couples had guests visit before the game. All eight PSU fans rode the shuttle bus, which makes 20-minute runs from the park to campus and back. The shuttle cost is included in the fee the campers pay for the Grange Park accommodations.
Another group of tailgaters/campers were from the Lebanon, Pennsylvania, area.
This group of nine men came to enjoy a “boys’ weekend out.” White Out/homecoming weekend was their first time at the park and the leader of the group said he learned about it online while searching for camping options in Centre County.
Several campers took part in homecoming activities, including members of the Alumni Band. They return each year to participate in the annual homecoming parade.
This group of campers put up four pop-up tents with side curtains, heaters and rugs on the ground. One corner of the tented area had a food prep area with electric hot plates.
The park also relieves the headaches of traffic and parking that comes with a Saturday game day. Confer said a “surprising number” of Penn State fans drive to Grange Park on football Saturdays to park their cars and pay a fee to ride the shuttle to and from the stadium.
An added perk for fans is shopping for PSU clothing and memorabilia at the Penn State shop, which is open at Grange Park.
