PSR Showdown
What has been the most important sports-business related development in Pittsburgh?

Maximizing Potential
By Larry Appolonia,
Pittsburgh Sports Report

The most impactful sports development in the Pittsburgh area has yet to occur. Let me explain. Pittsburgh has a legacy of taking advantage of innate resources. Our coal mines, rivers and location as the first gateway to the west led to the world's greatest steel making center. The immigrants who worked in the mines and mills brought us the dreams and hard work of which entrepreneurs are made. Their sons and daughters helped Pittsburgh introduce aluminum, electricity and glass production to the world. Now we are starting to use our waterways and natural beauty for economic advantages other cities would die for.

And we have another resource - SPORTS. Thanks to Arnie, Franco, Roberto, Mario and an assembly line of quarterbacks, Pittsburgh is recognized as much for sports as smoke stacks. The nation knows PNC Park, Sid Crosby and Oakmont. Towel waving ex-Pittsburghers have people believing the Steelers are loved everywhere. The Washington Capitals have to "Pittsburgh-proof" their arena when the Pens come to town. Pittsburgh is a top NASCAR market.

And it's not just how others see us; it's how we see ourselves. In a region full of parochialism, sports is our common tongue. Many cities across the U.S. have rabid fans, but sports goes beyond that here. It's not merely an obsession with a team, it is an essential part of our culture.

So sports is our resource-our opportunity-and we must take advantage. We must use our image, passion and entrepreneurship. Our leaders must learn how to market. We must be creative and diligent. The sports industry plays in an international arena, not just on the North Shore or the lower hill or the political chambers in Harrisburg. We must find a way to use sports to our economic advantage.

Sports is an enormous, still-growing business. Its tentacles have pervaded all aspects of society. It is competition, entertainment and more reality than any TV show can be. And we have some advantages in the battle for a piece of the sports pie. We can have a big piece, and the impact can be tremendous … if we are smart enough.

Larry Appolonia is the Business Manager of the Pittsburgh Sports Report.