There is a huge difference between State College and Blacksburg markets
State College and Blacksburg have completely different demographics, based on buying power within 100 mile radius.
1. State College has 27 counties within the radius. They make up all of PA 10 & 11, the majority (66%) of PA 9, 13, & 15, and a small part (10%) of PA 14. Assuming 600,000 population in each congressional district, the affected population is conservatively 2.45 M. 22% of the counties have poverty rates below 10%. 59% of the counties have poverty rates between 10% abd 15%, and 19% have poverty rates above 15%. The student population of PSU is 48,500.
2. Blacksburg has 26 counties and independent cities in VA and WV within the radius. NC was not included since similar facilities in the Triad are closer. They make up 50% of WV 1, the majority of VA 9 (60%), and a small part (20%) of VA 5 & 6. Assuming 600,000 population in each congressional district, the affected population is conservatively 0.9 M. 9% of the counties have poverty rates below 10%. 31% of the counties have poverty rates between 10% and 15%, and 62% have poverty rates above 15%. The student population of VT is approx. 38,000.
3 There is significantly more buying power around State College to support a Hot Wheels Monster Truck Show and concerts featuring Brandon Lake, Malcolm Todd, Journey, Weird Al, and A Boogie with Da Hoodie concerts planned in the next six months. Imagine what we could get with our buying power level.
** Edited by N2VT2 at 2/24/2026, 12:08:28 PM
Thread Replies (28)
A Cassell replacement can be profitable for VT. Look at Penn State...
-- LegalHokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 03:51 PM ET
LegalHokie
•
02/23/26 03:51 PM ET
In 2026, outside of Penn St. related events, Bryce Jordan has 8 events.
-- BG Hokie
Feb 24, 2026 at 10:08 AM ET
BG Hokie
•
02/24/26 10:08 AM ET
Replacement? Maybe, but we can renovate Cassell and it can be great.**
-- Archdale
Feb 23, 2026 at 07:06 PM ET
Archdale
•
02/23/26 07:06 PM ET
Seems like so much would have to be torn down that building new would
-- reestuart
Feb 24, 2026 at 08:24 AM ET
reestuart
•
02/24/26 08:24 AM ET
Already has lost capacity. I believe a renovation will reduce it even
-- uber hokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 07:58 PM ET
uber hokie
•
02/23/26 07:58 PM ET
Actually, doesn’t HAVE to reduce capacity, but I get your point.
-- Archdale
Feb 23, 2026 at 09:05 PM ET
Archdale
•
02/23/26 09:05 PM ET
I think when they rolled out the plans several years ago it was going to
-- uber hokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 09:42 PM ET
uber hokie
•
02/23/26 09:42 PM ET
State college has significantly more access to crowds
-- soflahokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 06:00 PM ET
soflahokie
•
02/23/26 06:00 PM ET
Penn State has always seemed to be bad in hoops
-- OrlandoHokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 11:42 PM ET
OrlandoHokie
•
02/23/26 11:42 PM ET
I think there several common misconceptions in your post...
-- LegalHokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 06:15 PM ET
LegalHokie
•
02/23/26 06:15 PM ET
Harrisburg's metro area is 2x Roanoke's however.**
-- Hokies23
Feb 23, 2026 at 06:32 PM ET
Hokies23
•
02/23/26 06:32 PM ET
It's also 2+ hours away from State College. Roanoke is 45 minutes from VT.
-- LegalHokie
Feb 24, 2026 at 08:56 AM ET
LegalHokie
•
02/24/26 08:56 AM ET
State College is more “in between” population hubs. Blacksburg is on the
-- Archdale
Feb 23, 2026 at 09:10 PM ET
Archdale
•
02/23/26 09:10 PM ET
Happy valley vs Blacksburg middle of nowhere is tallest midget argument
-- turkeywinghokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 05:42 PM ET
turkeywinghokie
•
02/23/26 05:42 PM ET
Not buying the comparison at all
-- Vippie1
Feb 23, 2026 at 04:11 PM ET
Vippie1
•
02/23/26 04:11 PM ET
Well, having gone to both VT and PSU, and living in and around these areas,
-- LegalHokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 05:34 PM ET
LegalHokie
•
02/23/26 05:34 PM ET
There is a huge difference between State College and Blacksburg markets
◄
-- N2VT2
Feb 24, 2026 at 12:07 PM ET
N2VT2
•
02/24/26 12:07 PM ET
Harrisburg/Lancaster is >2x the size of Roanoke/Christiansburg/Blacksburg
-- marcbvtgm
Feb 24, 2026 at 11:54 AM ET
marcbvtgm
•
02/24/26 11:54 AM ET
Place use to absolutely rock back in the Metro daze 💥**
-- astrohokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 05:17 PM ET
astrohokie
•
02/23/26 05:17 PM ET
Students attended, & remained, at football games back then also. That’s
-- Lancelot Link
Feb 23, 2026 at 07:43 PM ET
Lancelot Link
•
02/23/26 07:43 PM ET
Students didn't have phones & laptops to entertain them back then
-- UpperQuad
Feb 23, 2026 at 08:21 PM ET
UpperQuad
•
02/23/26 08:21 PM ET
And the games we're rarely on tv.**
-- Femoyer Hokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 08:59 PM ET
Femoyer Hokie
•
02/23/26 08:59 PM ET
I was there but no way they could have filled 15k
-- Vippie1
Feb 23, 2026 at 06:07 PM ET
Vippie1
•
02/23/26 06:07 PM ET
Never needed a bigger football stadium either until MV1 came.If we had a
-- uber hokie
Feb 23, 2026 at 08:02 PM ET
uber hokie
•
02/23/26 08:02 PM ET
It’s those people who buy season tix but don’t show up to games that hurts
-- uber hokie
Feb 24, 2026 at 06:14 PM ET
uber hokie
•
02/24/26 06:14 PM ET