For decades, the Little League World Series has attracted visitors from around the globe to Williamsport.
“It’s the largest event, travel and tourism wise, in the region,” said Lycoming County’s Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Jason Fink. “You go and you look at it, there's nothing within Williamsport/Lycoming County that's a larger event.”
The county’s Chamber of Commerce estimates the World Series brings in about 75,000 people and around $32 million to the regional economy.
But it’s not just Williamsport that benefits.
“It's not the local, it's not Williamsport, it's regional because you will find people who will stay in neighboring counties. They can't get accommodations during certain times of the series,” he said.
Large groups of people need a place to stay for the two-week event. Hotels, like the city’s historic Genetti Hotel, serve as a home for teams and guests alike, including Australia and Canada.
“People are dying to stay in Williamsport for those two weeks. It’s a huge impact for the hotels in the area,” said Genetti’s Sales Manager Stephanie Jones. “They (Australia and Canada) were our two international teams and they usually do come every year to us. We work through a travel agent with them.”
Many hotels are booked ahead of the World Series. ESPN employees, teams and guests fill many of the rooms.
“Our hotel does get booked up with vendors, but we also keep rooms open for the families that make it, and we've seen an increase this year with that too,” Jones said.
The hotel was once a Little League hub, said Jones. Its landmark status brings in people each year, while staying affordable with an average of $150 per night.
“We keep our rates very competitive. It's also just the Genetti Hotel of Williamsport,” Jones said.
Along with hotels, restaurants see an uptick in revenue. Bullfrog Brewery saw about a 40% increase, said co-owner Steve Koch.
Teams tend to frequent the Bullfrog Brewery. Newton, Pennsylvania’s team, that won the Mid-Atlantic region, was one of them this year.
“We typically do get teams, or fractions of teams, through here for the parade. Our whole outside was inhabited by Pennsylvania team parents, coaches and whatnot, whoever wasn't on the float on the parade,” Koch said.
He enjoys meeting visitors during the region’s biggest event.
“I love that time of year. It's people from all over the world that are coming here to have a good time. They're on vacation, they're celebrating and who doesn't like to hang out with happy people?” Koch said. “They bring a little bit of their culture here and it’s kind of like traveling without ever leaving town.”
Downtown businesses like The Otto Bookstore, promoted via social media ahead of the World Series. That boosted sales by 30% compared to last year, said General Manager John Shableski.
“It was pretty steady all the way through. We didn't have a quiet day at all, which was wonderful,” he said. “We had a lot of traffic, a lot of people coming in who did searches on social media and found us.”
Some of the highlights of the World Series are the Grand Slam Parade and Williamsport Welcomes the World. The events, promoted by the Chamber of Commerce, celebrate little league teams coming to the area. They bring in thousands of people who are local, out-of-state and international.
Fink works closely with Little League Inc., getting the community prepared, including welcome banners across the downtown.
“It's something that we coordinate every year to be able to just get the community dressed up to be able to welcome all the visitors,” Fink said.
The Grand Slam Parade, held for 18 years, welcomes visitors from all over the world before the games begin.
“We work very closely with Little League Baseball and are able to get the community prepared for all the festivities that take place during those 11 days of the World Series,” he said.
From Little League International’s perspective, they earned more than $31 million in 2022, according to their last public 990 tax form. This year’s numbers are still being collected, said Brian McClintock, Little League’s communications senior executive.
Since admission is free for the public, there are no ticket sales. Attendance is estimated daily during the World Series.
“We don't really know how many people because we don't sell tickets. We’ve got some idea on who's coming in from accounts at all of our entrance points, at our security points, but it's not completely accurate,” McClintock said.
He estimates there were 10,000 attendees per 38 games. About 372,613 people have attended since 2022, McClintock said.
“I think globally, attendance was really strong, and we had some great fan turnout throughout the two weeks here in Williamsport. It's always great to welcome different communities, different cultures and have everybody here and interacting in our community,” McClintock said.
The Little League World Series brings in all walks of life. Streets lighten up with curious visitors and baseball fans. It’s an event for everyone, Fink said.
“Williamsport evokes those positive feelings when we're talking to business and industry, new companies that we're talking to, or corporate that's coming to make a visit. Everybody knows Williamsport for Little League Baseball,” Fink said. “It's one of those things that it helps us on so many other fronts, not just the traveling tourism side of it.”
