This is the second in a series of articles leading up to the Pa. state bowling tournament coming to Butler.

BUTLER TWP — When the 82nd Pennsylvania State USBC Open Championship Bowling Tournament arrives in Butler come April, plenty of dollars will be rolling into town with it.

Family Bowlaway and Sherwood Lanes are combining to host the state’s singles, doubles and team events on weekends from April 2 through June 19.

Bob Durr and Mike Coyle are members of both the state and Butler Area USBC boards. Coyle is a former PSBC president and was inducted into the state bowling Hall of Fame last year. Butler previously hosted the state tourney in 1994 and 2004.

“We’re not trying to invent the wheel here. We’re just trying to make it a little better,” Coyle said.

That includes an online store where bowlers can log on to the Butler Area USBC website and pre-order state championship sweatshirts, jackets and/or long-sleeve T-shirts. No previous Pa. state bowling tourney site has ever offered this convenience.

“Bowlers usually come into (the host) town, report to the bowling center and buy their merchandise right there on site,” Coyle said. “This way, they can order what they want ahead of time, have the shirts custom-made with their team names, individual names on them, whatever they want.

“We’ve teamed up with a local business in town to make this happen. Items can be shipped to the bowlers or they can pick them up when they arrive in town.”

The on-line store can be accessed by logging on to www.butlerareausbcpa.org.

Butler’s state bowling committee consists of roughly 12 Butler Area USBC board members. There are approximately 25 people on the Butler board itself.

“This tournament means a lot to us and the community,” Durr said. “The economic impact it has on this area ... absolutely, that’s one of the reasons we work so hard to get it.”

Butler Area USBC estimates that revenue seen from this three-month long event — without bowling fees — could exceed $5 million for the Butler area.

“The hotels, restaurants, golf courses ... it all adds up,” Durr said.

State tournament bowlers generally arrive in town that Friday and leave on Sunday. Approximately 1,125 room nights will be required each weekend for the 12-week duration of the tournament. At a room rate of $99 per night, that computes to $1.3 million.

With tournament participants spending roughly seven hours in the bowling centers, they will spend the rest of the time dining, shopping or using some form of entertainment. Revenue generated from food purchased Friday nights alone is around $100,000. Saturday early meals generate around $200,000 with evening meals estimated to be $472,500.

York hosted last year’s state tournament.

“With COVID, they were hoping to get 500 teams and they wound up getting 750,” Durr said. “We always hope for more teams than we get, but our goal is to get 1,000 teams or more this year.”