Little League Official Touts Organization's Impact on Area Tourism

Holding their annual conference at Pennsylvania College of Technology, barely a mile from the birthplace of Little League Baseball, about 50 members of the Pennsylvania Economic Association learned some staggering numbers about the youth-sports organization's fiscal impact on the region.

The rise from homegrown phenomenon to host of the nation's 16th most popular sporting event the Little League Baseball World Series held each August was outlined Friday by David B. Houseknecht, chief financial officer. Telling the group he could "just as easily talk baseball as economics,"Houseknecht offered an impressive marriage of the two, detailing the $16.6 million in tourist revenue drawn by the 2005 series alone.

Those figures break down into $15.5 million from "overnighters," those who stay at area hotels throughout the 10-day, 16-team event; and $1.1 million from "day-trippers," fans who drive in from a 100-mile radius. His totals do not include the "soft dollar value" of Little League's promotional opportunities, from TV exposure and the kickoff "Grand Slam" parade to sponsor events and summer camps for youths from a five-state area.

Houseknecht's keynote address was just one highlight of the conference, held Thursday through Saturday across Penn College's main campus. Others included presentation of papers and a Friday afternoon panel discussion with representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The eventwas organized by Gerald D. "Chip" Baumgardner, an associate professor of business administration in Penn College's School of Business and Computer Technologies, and Abdul B. Pathan, professor of economics at the college. Baumgardner is a member of the association's board of directors and is its vice president for publicity.

For more about the PEA, a professional association of economists and allied social scientists in Pennsylvania and neighboring states, visit on the Web .