Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (5) looks to hand off against Northwestern, during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025 in Evanston, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
The Blair County Convention Center will host the Oregon football team and guests during the Sept. 27 weekend, when the West Coast team travels east to square off with the Penn State Nittany Lions.
“It’s a bite at the apple for us,” convention center Executive Director Tom Schilling told the authority Wednesday when speaking of ongoing preparations to host the visiting Oregon Ducks, a first-time event for the convention center.
“We landed this one … and expect it could lead to more,” Schilling said.
In light of the teams’ current national rankings – Penn State as No. 2 and Oregon as No. 6 – the approaching matchup is drawing attention and visitors to central Pennsylvania.
“The nation’s spotlight will be on State College that night,” authority Chairman Matt Stuckey said.
In recent weeks, online posters have advised football fans interested in attending the game to make early room reservations and to consider hotels and weekend rental options in communities outside Centre County.
Those in charge of the Oregon team committed several months ago to use the convention center, with housing provided at adjacent County Inn and Suites by Radisson.
While portions of the hotel are being renovated, Schilling said he was assured that no construction will be going on inside the rooms assigned to the visiting team.
Schilling also mentioned the team’s accommodations include transportation to Altoona from the University Park Airport and related security details.
Bookings on the rise
Hosting the visiting football team comes at a time when convention center personnel are reporting an increase in bookings, particularly from statewide associations.
The School Nutrition Association of Pennsylvania convened its conference at the convention center at the end of July, with attendees booking an estimated 500 rooms at five hotels, according to a report that Garrett Gierdoc, sales and marketing director, presented to the authority.
In November, the Pennsylvania Society of Health and Physical Educators will convene its annual conference at the convention center, requiring about 175 hotel rooms for the two day event. The PA Head Start Association has also booked the convention center in November for a conference stretching over three days that will require about 250 rooms, Gierdoc said.
“November used to be a slow month,” Schilling told the authority.
The convention center’s schedule also shows several events on its calendar, including the “N-Scale Weekend” starting Saturday and continuing Sunday, set up by the Altoona Association of Model Railroaders. About 125 vendor tables are to be set up.
And just days after the convention center bids goodbye to the Oregon Ducks, the facility will be set up for the Pennsylvania Square and Round Dance Federation’s Fall Festival, from Oct. 1-3, with a dancing schedule that stretches from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Financial reports show the convention center, between January and August, took in $1.6 million in revenue, exceeding budget projections by $63,867. Expenses added up to $1.56 million, which met budget projections.
The reported $1.6 million in revenue also included $76,574 from the county’s bed tax receipts, just short of budget projections through August. But the amount of future bed tax revenue, Schilling said, rests with the commissioners because their May 1 vote to decertify Explore Altoona as the county’s tourism promotion agency ended the division of bed tax revenue based on a 2016 agreement.
In late August, commissioners certified Discover Blair County, a newly created entity, to become the county’s tourism agency and plans call for that entity to set up an office inside the convention center.
Schilling declined to say if the convention center can operate without bed tax revenue from the county. Instead, he spoke of the convention center’s ongoing efforts and advertising, which draws people into the county and encourages overnight stays which generates the bed tax revenue.
“I believe the commissioners see the value of our advertising,” Schilling said.
In 2024, the convention center received $254,374 in bed tax, according to the center’s recently completed audit.
The audit also showed the center with revenue of $2.68 million, a figure that included $254,376 in bed tax revenue. Auditor Jamie Johnson of Young, Oakes Brown & Co. said her review showed 2024’s expenses adding up to $2.98 million, but that included $704,733 to account for depreciation.
If the 2024 bed tax revenue and depreciation are excluded, Johnson reported that the convention center’s operations came in about $158,981 in the black.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.
