Why does everything get more expensive during Penn State football weekends?
On a normal weekend at State College, it's exactly what you would expect. A college town, with students walking around everywhere, restaurants stay busy but overly busy, traffic can get out of hand sometimes, but overall it feels normal. Nothing ever too slow; it just seems the right pace. When it comes to a Penn State Football weekend, that completely flips. With Beaver Stadium being the second biggest (soon the biggest!) stadium in the United States and one of the largest tailgating areas in the country, a lot goes into one of these weekends. Thousands of fans and family work their way into State College, making it seem like you are in the middle of New York City.
Hotel room rates jump about 500-1000% in price, sometimes even more; parking spaces all around are harder to find, restaurants have much longer waits, and tickets can cost a lot depending on the opponent. These small changes might seem like they make sense because of the hype constantly around Penn State football, but in a bigger picture, it's a clear example of economics in real life. The main reason prices increase is simple: demand rises very quickly, while supply stays mostly the same. If there is one thing everyone knows about economics its the idea of supply and demand. More demand and less supply, prices rise, and sometimes to extreme levels.
Sudden increase in demand talk through per section
Demand represents how much people are willing to buy certain things at different prices. Back to this idea of a normal weekend, the demand for hotel rooms, restaurant tables, parking, and transportation is mostly coming from students, residents, and regular visitors. On football weekends, a huge number of additional people suddenly need these same things. Fans need places to eat, stay, and park. Many are willing to spend more as well, since it will be a trip most likely paid in advance, especially if people are only visiting once or twice in a season.
The amount of available space does not just somehow “increase” during these weekends. Hotels can’t just spawn in, more parking spots cannot just be made, and restaurants can’t just put 100 more tables just for a weekend. Since this supply is limited, businesses can charge higher prices and still find those customers willing to pay them.
Hotels
Let's go through these examples. For hotels, when many people are competing for a limited number of rooms close to campus, prices rise. A room that would normally be about 100 dollars would jump to nearly 500. On our white out weekends, those same rooms would be roughly 1000, potentially even higher. This demand drives prices.
Now comes the idea: is it worth it? And what does this have to do with economics? Some people may decide the higher price is worth paying because they want to be close to campus. Easier overall to be right there by campus. Others might stay farther away, split the cost with friends, or not even spend the night. This is all part of the economics I talked about in the introduction of this section. Consumers have different decisions all due to different prices. You may not think that shows economics, but in reality, it does.
Parking and tickets
Parking works in basically the same way. There is only a limited amount of convenient parking spots near campus and Beaver Stadium. With more people, the value of those spots increases. As I said with the hotels, people may pay higher prices for the parking, saving themselves from walking a long distance or dealing with transportation before and after the game. These spots go far beyond just price; they offer the time and convenience of parking there. Football tickets also change in price depending on both demand and who the opponent is. A major matchup, a rivalry game, or any night game will bring in more people than usual. Once again, these seat numbers in the stadium never rise; therefore, the resales jump up higher, hence showing economics in yet another sense.
Restaurants and stores
Restaurants and stores also feel this major increase once people come to State College. Downtown is much busier, and restaurants that may normally have open tables suddenly have waits for hours. Even when menu prices stay the same, customers still have another variable of cost in their mind: their time. The sole most valuable piece of cost and economics, time, is the only thing you can not get back. Waiting an hour for food, sitting in traffic, or standing in long lines all represent these opportunity costs. Now, one important theory you should know is opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the value of what someone has to give up to make a choice. So with this previous example, a person who waits in line at a restaurant is giving up an hour that they could have spent tailgating, with friends, or doing something else. Giving up that hour to wait was worth more to them at the time.
Businesses also face these challenges during a gameday weekend. Restaurants may need more employees, more food, and longer working hours. Stores must prepare for larger numbers of people coming into stores, which means a greater demand for Penn State clothing and other products. Football weekends make opportunities for businesses to make more money, but also create more costs and pressure overall.
Who benefits and who pays the price now?
When you look at overall benefits, local hotels, restaurants, bars, stores, rental owners, and places like parking garages can make a lot more money on football weekends. The large number of visitors increases the overall spending and economy in State College, supporting everyone in a sense. Employees also get more hours and make more in tips. Students also make money selling tickets, driving visitors, or doing other things that help serve the increase in demand overall. Penn State football is not just a football game; in a bigger sense, it is a huge economic event for the community.
Now, there may be all these benefits, but this causes extra difficulty for people living in the area and students. People may not go to the game still need to deal with the consequences of more traffic, longer waits, and limited parking. I could go out to a restaurant with my friends, and I'm there competing for a table with the families and friends visiting. A normal wait at Buffalo Wild Wings would go from 10-15 minutes to easily over an hour. This shows both the economic benefits and tradeoffs of a normal football weekend.
Now, before I came to college, I honestly really only thought of supply and demand in graphs. Football weekends make those ideas so much easier to understand because you see it happening right in front of you, something really cool to see. Demand increases as people come in. Supply remains limited because there is only limited space everywhere. Prices rise, consumers adjust their opportunity cost mentally, and money gets spread. Next time you visit somewhere, just think about it. If a hotel room costs more than expected, traffic barely moves, restaurants have a long wait, or whatever it is, there is an economic reason behind it. It is supply, demand, and scarcity happening in real life.