Pony League World Series shows Washington to the world
Editor’s note: The following is part of a series of articles about the 75th anniversary of PONY Baseball and Softball, leading up to the Pony League World Series in Washington next month.
Each August, it captivates those playing, coaching and watching.
It showcases the city of Washington and Washington County, and because of increased sponsorships and technological advances over the years the whole world can watch.
It is the Pony League World Series.
This year, it will help culminate the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Pony Baseball.
The event — and that’s what is has become, beyond a baseball tournament for 13- and 14-year-old players — means a great deal to Washington County.
Nathan Voytek, chairman of Tournaments Inc. — a significant and incomparable financial component of the Pony League World Series – said the organization’s budget used to be between “probably $40,000 to $50,000, and now we (have) a budget of about $300,000.”
Added Voytek: “That takes a lot of sponsorship dollars, so we need to sell all year long. The televised (games are) the biggest piece of that. It’s close to $100,000. But that’s probably one of the pieces that’s grown the event the most. We’re most proud of and excited about the opportunity for people within our region to watch. Also, the streaming capabilities we have for these (players) and their relatives and friends back in their hometowns and those around the world to watch them. It allows their brothers and their sisters, their uncles and aunts and their grandparents to see them play the game.”
In 2014, Dick’s Sporting Goods was the name and title sponsor of the Pony League World Series and remained so through the 2023 series. Printscape, owned and operated by John Dziak, became the Series’ name and title sponsor in 2024 and continues in that capacity. Dick’s Sporting Goods returned as a presenting sponsor in 2025.
Economic impact
According to an economic impact study conducted by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce in 2019 – the most recent such study on the Pony League World Series – patrons spent an average of $164 per person at the event. Using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, this would equate to about $214 per person today.
The Chamber added that the Pony League World Series makes a $6.5 million impact on Washington County each year.
Stephen Rydzak, a member of Tournaments Inc.’s board of directors and a marketing director for Brand Motives, said the $6.5 million impact was determined by a Tournaments Inc.-sponsored study that took the Chamber of Commerce study in consideration.
“We (Tournaments Inc.) worked with CorCom Inc., a research and consulting firm run by a Carnegie Mellon University professor, on the survey results and interpretation. That first year, our economic impact was slightly under $4 million, calculated by the average total spent per visitor multiplied by the total visitors to the World Series,” Rydzak explained. “Ideally, we’d conduct a new survey every year, but that’s cost prohibitive. It’s certainly not a perfect science, but since 2019, we have adjusted the 2019 average for inflation each year and then multiplied it by our attendance for that year, leading to the $6.5 million calculation in 2025.”
Added Will Thomeier, Director, Economic and Tourism Development for the Chamber of Commerce: “If (one) simply bases it on the inflation adjusted estimate per person from this study, it works to a touch more than 30,000 attendees,”
Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, understands the importance of Pony League Baseball and Softball and the Pony League World to Washington County economically and socially.
“It’s important for the Chamber, and formerly the tourism promotion agency, to be involved with Pony League Baseball and, especially, the Pony League World Series, because first and foremost, it started here,” Kotula said. “It’s something we’re proud of because it’s something that we can trace its roots to Washington County. We want to make sure that continues on a broader scale.
“It really helps us focus domestically and, I would argue, gain international attention. So, it’s more than just a tournament. What it really does is welcome people from around the world to Washington County for a week. We’re able to highlight Washington County while showing visitors the great communities and industry we have. You never know when there’s a possible investor or somebody who is interested in moving here. That’s why we want to make sure we really highlight and focus our attention for that week on showcasing Washington County.”
Other highlights of the Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 economic study, which totaled 302 responding to an intercept survey, included:
• Two-in-five (39 percent) are first-time visitors to the Series.
• International teams (46 percent) and the Champions League game (39 percent) are liked best.
• Sixty-four percent attend the Series in groups of three or more.
• Ninety-four percent rated the Series as “excellent” (57 percent) or “very good” (37 percent).
• The study showed 97 percent would recommend the Pony League World Series.
• Ninety-three percent noticed a sponsor.
•Word-of-mouth (28 percent) was the top information source for learning about the event.
• Fifteen percent stayed in a hotel because of the Pony League World Series.
• Food ($52.91), transportation ($36.38) and shopping ($35.89) were the top spending categories.
In addition to the championship baseball, the Pony League World Series is socially significant, and it also shines a light on a huge volunteer effort by Tournaments Inc.
“As the event keeps growing, so does the responsibility in the work tied into the event,” Voytek explained. “We start working on the next one right after the World Series ends. We talk about what we did, right, wrong and how we can improve. Then, we get to work and make it happen.”
As his director predecessors – the late L. Anthony (Sonny) Spossey and Bob Gregg, who remains involved with the Pony League World Series through Tournaments Inc. and serving as the public address announcer – understood, keeping the Series in Washington and continuing to move it forward operationally is an exhaustive effort.”
Home run
Larry Maggi, longtime Washington County commissioner and former sheriff, appreciates those efforts that he says benefits all Southwest Pennsylvania.
“During this week of the Series and building up to it, Washington County, and quite honestly, the whole region is exposed to the world,” Maggi said. “We’re able to show off what we have here, all our little hidden treasures, our beautiful country charm, our wooded areas, our parks, and it’s literally to the world.
“We’ve had people from China, Taipei, Mexico, Germany, Puerto Rico – all over the world – and it gives us an opportunity to show off Washington County. These people come here, they stay in our hotels, they go to our restaurants, and it gives us an opportunity to showcase what we have here.
“It’s changed over the years from the basic focus on the tournament to now a big event with live streaming and social media and corporate sponsorship. It’s an event on top of a baseball tournament.”
Mark Alterici understands both sides of the series — the on-field competition and the significance to the county, particularly in tourism. It is tied together.
Alterici served as a board member of Washington County tourism before the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency merged more than a decade ago and he has been involved in youth baseball in the Mon Valley area for many years.
“It is great exposure to the point where even after (visitors and fans) went back home, we heard from the coaches and others what a great time they had at the Series,” Alterici said.
“We had a picnic for the kids. There’s nothing like watching all these kids interact. The kids from Mexico were trying to talk to the kids from Chinese Taipei and they had no language they could just talk to each other with. But they can still communicate with each other. And that is what it’s all about.
“I absolutely love the “Champions” game they hold on Saturday. There’s nothing like watching the (Pony players) line the field for the special needs kids and adults who are playing and then cheering them on. It’s truly amazing, the sportsmanship. There’s nothing like those games. It just, shows Pony Baseball and Softball, the Pony League World Series and the county in a good light.”
Established in 2009, Pony Baseball and Softball’s Champions games provide every child, regardless of special needs, the opportunity to participate in baseball and softball. It is Pony’s goal to provide an environment that enhances the participants’ self-esteem, physical mobility, and embodies the spirit of teamwork and community.
“Every event that has any length to it at all, has great partners,” Gregg said. “You must because otherwise you’re constantly chasing your tail, trying to make an event work for this year. We’re not just looking at making the event work for this year. Tournaments Incorporated is making sure that this event continues in Washington forever.”