Vision 2022 'Quality of life': New-look Point a centerpiece as region's sports scene provides economic boost

Feb. 26—The region's sports scene is about more than fun and games.

Events such as the All American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament and the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions have brought future stars of baseball and golf, respectively, to the area while also creating a financial boost to local businesses.

The Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League provide 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial with a major tenant and give hockey fans a taste of the sport played in the largest Junior league in the United States.

In addition to the AAABA Tournament, which has been played in Johnstown 74 of its 76 years dating to 1945, Sargent's Stadium at the Point is home of the second-year Johnstown Mill Rats in the Prospect League, a college wooden-bat league.

The Mill Rats share the Point with the Johnstown Collegiate Baseball League, which produces the city's representatives in the AAABA Tournament each year.

The Flood City Thunder semiprofessional football team is preparing for its third season in the Great Eastern Football Association.

Point renovations

Sargent's Stadium at the Point, built in 1926, underwent significant renovations over the past year, which should be a major boost to the Mill Rats, Thunder, AAABA Tournament, Pitt-Johnstown baseball and Bishop McCort Catholic High School, which uses the stadium for football, soccer and baseball.

"It's beautiful and historic," City of Johnstown Recreation Director Tony Penna Jr. said of the new-look Point.

"When people from out of town see it, it makes you appreciate how special it is, as someone who lives here.

"Its place in history is special, and we've been able to keep that intact."

Sargent's Stadium began a transformation shortly after the 76th AAABA Tournament concluded in August.

The artificial turf, which had been installed in 2007, was torn out and replaced with a new playing surface.

The project was delayed for about a month when the out-of-state company doing the upgrades was hit by a pandemic-related work stoppage.

The once antiquated stadium lighting has been upgraded to an efficient LED system.

A sound system — barely audible as 5,680 fans attended opening night of the 2021 AAABA Tournament — is scheduled to be replaced.

"The biggest improvement is the lights because I've learned over time how worried everybody was about how (the previous lights) weren't going to work," Penna said, referring to well-documented lighting malfunctions in the past. "The playing surface had to be done. The scoreboard is phenomenal. That's going to allow us to create some opportunities for the community. The sound system is going to be done."

When the stadium is packed, the city and surrounding areas benefit.

'Event of the year'

George Arcurio III is president of the Johnstown Oldtimers Baseball Association, which sponsors the AAABA Tournament. Arcurio said the tournament annually generates $1 to $1.5 million in spin-off revenue to the region through the thousands of people who attend the weeklong event.

"To me, the AAABA Tournament is the social event of the year In Johnstown," Arcurio said. "The hotels, restaurants, drug stores, fast-food places, clothing stores, gas stations, all the tourist venues, the airport and supermarkets all have a positive return with what's going on with all the people coming into the area."

Arcurio said approximately 12,000 people paid to attend games at the Point during AAABA week in 2021.

The tournament also plays games at six other fields throughout Cambria County.

"Lilly, Portage, Mount Aloysius in Cresson, Forest Hills in Sidman as well as Roxbury, Westmont and the Point — all the areas, businesses do very well," Arcurio said. "Most places have told me it's a 15% to 20% increase to their businesses if we have good weather throughout the week."

The Mill Rats played their first Prospect League season in the summer of 2021. Attendance might not have met preseason expectations, but the team had some success on the field in the second half of the schedule, coming close to earning a playoff spot.

The Thunder have provided fans another chance to watch football in a region that loves the sport. The COVID-19 pandemic led to multiple delays of the inaugural Thunder season in 2020, but the eight-man semiprofessional squad played its spring schedule in 2021 and is slated to open on March 19.

Golf's biggest names

At Sunnehanna Country Club, the local tournament has maintained its status as one of the biggest events in amateur golf. The June competition has brought to Westmont future PGA stars such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa.

When the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions holds its 69th event in June, it will be among seven of the top summer amateur tournaments in the nation that have formed the Elite Amateur Golf Series (EAGS).

"The bottom line is to make sure the tournament remains relevant in a rapidly changing environment," said Sunnehanna Amateur co-chairman John Yerger. "Change is inevitable and this ensures the tournament will remain an integral part of amateur golf moving forward."

'Growing sport'

Visit Johnstown Sports Travel Program Coordinator Nicole Waligora said the region attracts many who participate in sports such as mountain bike climbing, BMX, or even those who simply want to enjoy the trails in the Laurel Highlands.

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Mountain Biking Championships are held at Highland Regional Park, bringing junior high and high school mountain bikers from throughout the state.

"It's really a growing sport that brings in a couple hundred people every fall," Waligora said. "They're a group that takes advantage of camping in our area. Sometimes those folks stay in nontraditional lodging."

Waligora also pointed to the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling event that brings thousands of competitors, family members and spectators to 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.

"PJW returns, and this year it's going to be bigger because they've expanded their women's division," Waligora said.

"There are typically 750 athletes, but now it could be close to 1,100.

"When Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling started holding the event in Johnstown five or six years ago, a $1 million economic impact was estimated. That number probably has grown substantially."

Other events at the War Memorial such as the annual Slap Shot Cup Tournament have found a spot on the region's sports calendar. The adult hockey Slap Shot Cup brings players from throughout the United States and Canada to Johnstown, with men's and women's competition in multiple age groups and divisions.

Tomahawks milestone

Of course, the Tomahawks, in their 10th season in Johnstown, are the major tenant at the arena.

The NAHL Tomahawks still managed to average approximately 1,100 fans a game in 2020-21 despite dealing with uncertainty amid pandemic-related guidelines.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and parts of 2021, the War Memorial received assistance from the 1889 Foundation to acquire much-needed skates and a sports court floor that enables the arena to offer a wider variety of sporting events, including volleyball and karate, according to ASM Global, the Los Angeles-based venue management company that operates the facility.

The 28-team Flood City Challenge Volleyball Tournament recently brought competitors from Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia to Johnstown. The Tri-State Arenacross and its riders from 35 states and Canada provided a boost to area hotels, restaurants and other businesses in December.

The world-renown Harlem Globetrotters, Blippie the Musical, Brit Floyd and Dustin Lynch are among the features at the arena in 2022, and an Esports tournament is being planned for the summer.

Other sports bring competition and dollars to the area.

The historic Jennerstown Speedway kicks off another season in April at the 7,500-seat, .522-mile asphalt oval. Racing begins in April and runs through early October. Constructed in the 1920s, Jennerstown Speedway is one of the oldest short tracks in the United States.

The region also features college athletics on multiple levels.

The St. Francis University program in Loretto competes in NCAA Division I while Pitt-Johnstown and Indiana (Pa.) each play in NCAA Division II, and Mount Aloysius in Cresson is in NCAA Division III. The Penn Highlands Community College is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

The options to participate in or attend sporting events abounds throughout the region, providing an often intangible boost to the area's reputation as a destination.

"As far as quality of life, there is a big piece of it being filled and we're going to have more of that," Penna said.

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.