HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Congress of State Games (NCSG) and theHershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau (HHRVB) recently announced the 2013 State Games of America (SGA) will be held in the region best known for Pennsylvania’s capital city of Harrisburg and the hometown of Hershey, The Sweetest Place On Earth®.

The biennial Olympic-style sports event, tentatively slated for late July and early August 2013, features competition between top medal winners from the 31 State Games across the nation.  Event organizers anticipate 10,000 athletes will compete in over 30 different sports at a variety of premier venues throughout the region.

Tourism officials see hosting this high profile sporting event as an opportunity to position the popular family vacation spot within the Mid-Atlantic region as a nationally recognized youth-sports destination.

Mary Smith, President of the HHRVB, explains the secret to the region becoming a sporting event destination is quality venues and accommodations at affordable prices for planners and a central location and unmatched family-friendly attractions for attendees. The Hershey Harrisburg region is easily accessible by auto, Amtrak, or air (MDT) from major population centers within the Mid-Atlantic region and is more affordable on average than those larger metropolitan areas.

An extensive inventory of versatile facilities also provides scalability for producing a new or growing event. Planners working with HHRVB’s sports marketing department get easy access to nearly all of the regional venues used by minor league sports teams, the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company, and local high schools and colleges.

In 2010 the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, the region’s one million square-foot multi-purpose indoor exhibit and sports facility, added a 78,500-square-foot SnapSports® ShockTower® indoor sports floor that accommodates 15 basketball or 20 volleyball courts and configurations for team handball, indoor field hockey, fencing, wrestling, and cheerleading.

The NCSG was created in 1986 to encourage the development of State Games, and to further the ideals of the Olympic spirit through amateur athletic competitions across the United States.

Colorado Springs last hosted the SGA in 2009 and San Diego is hosting the event August 4-7, 2011.  The event is a property of the National Congress of State Games, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and a community-based member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.