Question - Does The Little League World Series Affect Area Parks?

I would like to know if any of you have seen any changes in the Pennsylvania parks or anticipate any due to this "event" that I have no desire to attend. Are there road closings, hotel shortages, extra crowds, etc.

Any info that "locals" might know would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Williamsport is still around 50 miles away from Knoebels (which as far as I know is the closest park). I suppose a few people might end up taking rooms in Danville or Bloomsburg, but I don't think that would affect the park that much.

I don't follow it that closely, so I don't know how much free time any of the teams have, or if their fans are interested in doing things that aren't Series related.

I have never noticed any increase in attendance due to the LLWS. Being that Williamsport is not really that close to Knoebels, and there are no other parks closer than Hershey or Delgrossos, I don't really see many of these people going. Plus from what I have seen, these kids are on very condensed schedules, and don't have time to have much fun.

So being in the little league world series is considered dull?

Darn those parents for forcing their children into such a trite sport. :)

ridemcoaster said:
So being in the little league world series is considered dull?

Darn those parents for forcing their children into such a trite sport. :)

All I can say from watching parents and coaches on our local news stations coverage, it doesn't seem like the remember that this is just a game, and being played by kids. When it becomes such high pressure with people loosing their composure, it seems that it would no longer be fun either.

I'm kind of on the fence with this issue. As long as there are opportunities for kids to play ball...who aren't that good...I don't mind the positive exposure that this could bring to a community.

When it's taken too far and (usually) it's the parents and coaches who do, then it's just not fair or cool. There was a story a few years back about a kid who was playing for a New York team, who was too old for his division. That's where it becomes "cheating" which is actually what some of the pros sometimes do on a higher level.

My initial post was just to see if this "event" is big enough to cause massive changes to the Pennsylvania parks, and you folks have generously answered my question. Thanks for doing so.

Back to the question at hand...I've had the misfortune of being in the area during the Series. No effect on the parks that I could see, or on anything else for that matter, except for the MOTEL ROOMS. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania seems to be starved for accommodations to begin with, and the Series is one of a million and one events that just makes matters worse.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I was at Knoebels yesterday, and I saw one family whose kids were wearing T-shirts that said "Little League World Series" on them. All the kids were obviously too young to participate in anything above t-ball. They could have been general tourists, or maybe the family of someone who is playing.

RideMan, I'll agree with you on the accommodations thing to a degree. It seems that for certain times of the year, there are too few rooms for certain events. But the problem is if they would add more rooms to handle certain events, those rooms would be woefully underused for 40-some weeks out of the year.

Actually, it is worse than that.

I think the demand is pretty steady across PA at least all summer long, maybe all year long. The trouble is, the demand is all for Friday and Saturday night. The demand isn't for 12 weeks out of the year, it's for maybe 80 days throughout the year.

The moral is that if you're in Nowheresville, or East Bum****, or Where-In-Hell*, or Elysburg, or any of those far-flung places between Allentown and Pittsburgh, if you're planning to stay on Friday or Saturday night, get a reservation. You'll be glad you did.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

*I think all three of those are in Lancaster County...

--DCAjr

Not entirely off topic.. I saw the Little League on ESPN so I decided to watch for a bit to see the attitude (at least from the perception of a viewer) and while it was difficult to say whether the kids were having fun or not for sure, it certainly appeared so..

I did see a dad in audience yelling when the camera panned past him though.. LOL..

Thing that blew me away was the 12 year old that was throwing (accurately mind you) at 70mph.. Holy crap! At 12 I was learning BASIC programming on my Apple IIe and could barely throw a ball in a straight line.. sheesh..