Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority

What Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority does

The Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority (HHSE) is a non-profit 501(c)(6) destination marketing organization (DMO) operating as a division of Visit Hershey & Harrisburg. Founded in 2016 as a successor to event-hosting efforts dating to 2012, the organization is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and is led by Executive Director Gregg Cook alongside a small identified team that includes Director of Business Development Danielle Vincenti and Cortney Ranck-Cameron, who joined in September 2025 as Manager of Event Strategies and Marketing Projects.

HHSE's core function is to attract, bid for, and coordinate regional, national, and international sporting and entertainment events across a portfolio of partner venues in the Hershey–Harrisburg region. The venue stack aggregates the PA Farm Show Complex (1M+ sq ft), Hersheypark Stadium (16,000+ seats), GIANT Center (12,500 seats), FNB Field (6,100+ seats), seven NHL-sized ice rinks, and a regional lodging base of 9,200+ hotel rooms, with the organization's marketing positioning that 40% of the U.S. population is within a 500-mile drive. Anchor and recurring events include the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, AHL Outdoor Classic, State Games of America, Mecum Auto Auction, Great American Outdoor Show, and the Big 26 Baseball Classic (acquired in 2017), with a new Harrisburg Heat partnership at Hersheypark Arena slated to begin in 2026.

As a 501(c)(6), HHSE generates revenue through member contributions, event-hosting fees, sponsorships, grants, and partnership arrangements rather than product sales; the organization leverages the Hershey trademark with permission from Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. There is no proprietary technology product or AI/ML capability underpinning the business — value creation rests entirely on aggregated venue inventory, relationship-driven event recruitment, and destination marketing to event organizers and rights-holders.

Name

Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority

Legal name

Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority

Website

https://hhsportsandevents.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority is a non-profit 501(c)(6) destination marketing organization that bids for and coordinates sporting and entertainment events across Hershey–Harrisburg venues for event organizers and rights-holders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Tourism and Event Management Services

NAICS

Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Venue-Owned/Operated Event Organizers (In-House Promoters) (MPAKADAI)

Keywords

• Sports tourism services
• Event management support
• Destination marketing
• Venue procurement
• Sports tournament hosting

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrisburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Non-profit Organization Funding: The authority is a division of Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, a 501c6 non-profit partnership-based Destination Marketing Organization. Revenue appears to come from membership fees, event grants, and tourism development funding rather than product sales.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HHSE is a non-profit Destination Marketing Organization that promotes the Hershey Harrisburg region to sports tournament organizers and event planners. It provides free event-hosting support services including venue procurement, bid and RFP preparation, grant programs, hotel room block and transportation coordination, site visits, welcome amenities, PR and marketing support, and itinerary development. The authority owns and operates the Big 26 Baseball Classic and works across Dauphin and Perry counties in Pennsylvania.

Product overview

The Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority (HHSE) offers a unified suite of event hosting and sports tourism services rather than discrete software products. The organization's core offering consists of event promotion and coordination services for the Hershey Harrisburg region, including venue procurement, bid and RFP preparation and submission, grant programs, hotel room block and transportation coordination, site visits, welcome amenities, PR and marketing support, and itinerary development. HHSE operates as a division of Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, a 501c6 non-profit Destination Marketing Organization serving Dauphin County, and owns and operates the Big 26 Baseball Classic® event.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Event Hosting Support Services Comprehensive event-hosting support for sports tournament organizers, tournament directors, and event planners bringing competitions and special events to the Hershey Harrisburg region. Services include venue procurement, bid and RFP preparation, grant programs, hotel and transportation coordination, site visits, welcome amenities, PR and marketing support, and itinerary development.
• Big 26 Baseball Classic Annual summer high school all-star baseball tournament featuring players from Pennsylvania and Maryland, owned and operated by HHSE since 2017. Includes a Buddy Program for individuals ages 5-21 with special needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40% of the U.S. population is located within 500 miles of Hershey Harrisburg
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Visit Hershey & HarrisburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHHSE is a division of Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, the official non-profit partnership-based Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) serving Dauphin County. Visit Hershey & Harrisburg develops and executes comprehensive sales, marketing, and communication programs to compete for leisure, business, group, and sporting event travel market segments.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Destination DC: Washington DC's destination marketing organization with active sports event recruitment. Competes with HHSE for Mid-Atlantic regional sports tourism bids while operating with substantially larger resources.
• Visit Orlando: Large destination marketing organization that actively recruits sporting events as part of its convention and sports tourism strategy. Operates at much larger scale but competes for the same rights-holder RFPs in the meetings/sports segment.
• Choose Chicago: Major DMO with dedicated sports tourism sales effort that competes with HHSE for national amateur and professional event bids. Larger budget and venue inventory but less concentrated focus on sports than HHSE.
• NYC & Company: Official DMO for New York City, with a meetings and conventions unit that includes major sporting events. Benchmarks the upper end of destination sports tourism scale against which HHSE positions on accessibility and cost.

Direct peers

• Greater Houston Sports Authority: Regional sports commission recruiting and hosting amateur sporting events in the Houston region. Comparable event-bidding function and DMO-aligned mission to HHSE.
• Pittsburgh Sports Commission: Division of Visit Pittsburgh that bids for and hosts amateur and professional sports events in the Pittsburgh region. Closest in-state peer to HHSE in scale, mission, and operating model as a sports-focused DMO division.
• Louisville Sports Commission: Non-profit regional sports commission that recruits and hosts amateur sporting events in the Louisville metro. Comparable mission, non-profit structure, and bid-development service model to HHSE.
• Indy Sports Corp: Regional sports authority that owns, operates, and hosts major amateur sporting events in Indianapolis. Similar event-hosting mandate and DMO-adjacent structure to HHSE, though operating at substantially larger scale.
• Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) Sports Division: Greater Philadelphia's DMO runs a dedicated sports bidding unit that competes for the same Mid-Atlantic regional and national tournaments HHSE targets, with overlapping governing-body relationships and event rights-holder pipelines.

Others

• Sports ETA: Industry association (formerly National Association of Sports Commissions) representing sports commissions and event organizers. HHSE is a member; relevant as the industry body setting standards and connecting HHSE to peer commissions nationally.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hersheyharrisburgsportsandevents
• Instagraminstagram.com/hhsportsandevents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hershey-harrisburg-sports-events-authority

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority