GOLDEN GAMES
Pittsburgh can expect economic boost from Senior Olympics
A collection of senior athletes cheered and waved Terrible Towels on Wednesday afternoon at the Senator John Heinz History Center. The announcement of the Senior Olympics’ return to Pittsburgh couldn’t have been more fitting.
The National Senior Games are officially coming to the Steel City in 2023. It will be Pittsburgh’s second time hosting the multisport event for adults age 50 years and older. The National Senior Games, a biennial competition, was held here in 2005.
SportsPittsburgh, a division of tourism group VisitPittsburgh; representatives of the National Senior Games Association (NSGA); Mayor Bill Peduto; and two dozen or so local senior athletes gathered Wednesday afternoon for the formal announcement.
“We really felt like our city was well resourced. With our organizing committee, we can put on an event even better than 2005. We want to make sure we continue to set the bar high and beat the standard we set in ’05,” SportsPittsburgh Executive Director Jennifer Hawkins said. “We know that it will be a new experience for our athletes.”
“There are going to be so many great opportunities that this city is going to have as we get through COVID and into the post-COVID world,” Mr. Peduto said. “I have a prognosis that in the next several years Pittsburgh will be seeing its best days. But a critical part needed in that is the ability for others to see Pittsburgh through their own eyes. This is a wonderful way to celebrate an intergenerational city.”
The National Senior Games, often referred to as the Senior Olympics, is expected to feature more than 10,000 athletes with 30,000 total visitors coming to Pittsburgh. A date isn’t set yet for the competition, which runs 12 to 14 days, although organizers are eyeing the end of the summer.
Multiple venues across the city and into neighboring counties will be utilized to accommodate the competition’s 21 sports, including archery, badminton, basketball, bowling, cornhole, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, track and field, and volleyball.
The games’ headquarters will be the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Ms. Hawkins said. She also expects Petersen Events Center and Trees Hall on the University of Pittsburgh campus to be used for indoor events.
Marc T. Riker, the CEO of the NSGA, added that PPG Paints Arena, Heinz Field or PNC Park might be used for special events, such as the flame arrival.
“We do want some events out in the suburbs, too, whether it’s Mt. Lebanon or North Park or places like that, so people will explore out and see the whole Pittsburgh experience,” Mr. Riker said. “That’s one thing that’s big for our athletes. They like to explore the city. It goes beyond the field of play and competing.”
In 2005, when Pittsburgh welcomed 10,400 athletes, the Senior Olympics generated about $30 million for the local economy, Ms. Hawkins said. Most recently,
the 2019 games pumped $35 million into the economy of Albuquerque, N.M., according to the NSGA.
Because of the pandemic, the 2021 National Senior Games were postponed. They’re being held from May 10-23 next year in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. This will be the first time the NSGA has held nationals in back-to-back years.
“That’ll get the athletes excited to get back to the playing field at nationals in ’22, and they’ll want to keep it going,” Mr. Riker said. “They’ve waited so long. ...
So they’re going to be excited to come right back to it the year after.”
“It will be an economic boost for our region, not just Pittsburgh proper. ... And we hope to see a boost to that as people get back to competing in a centralized location,” Ms. Hawkins added. “The amount of effort we’re going to put into growing participants in not only the national games, but also the state games, should boost that economic impact.”