Pittsburgh can add the 2014 U.S. Gymnastics Championships to its hosting resume, along with the 2009 G-20 Summit, 2011 Winter Classic, 2012 NHL Draft and 2012 One Young World Conference.
The gymnastics competition is coming to Pittsburgh for the first time from Aug. 21-24, 2014, at the CONSOL Energy Center.
Steve Penny, President and CEO of the U.S. Gymnastics organization, said it's not just the newly-constructed arena in Uptown that made Pittsburgh appealing.
"When we bring all of our top people from around the country to a city to celebrate our sport, we want them to feel special," Penny said. "What happens is you got to take the event from being inside the building to being embraced by the entire community and by the entire city, and that's one of the reasons, in fact probably the number one reason, why we felt comfortable coming to Pittsburgh."
Penny, who was sporting a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey at the announcement, said the U.S. Gymnastics Championship is the Super Bowl of the sport. About 2,500 to 3,000 people from the U.S. Gymnastics organization should be expected, but that number doesn't include the athletes' parents or fans.
VisitPittsburgh hosted Wednesday's announcement at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Pittsburgh tourism agency also announced bookings for conventions and meetings in Allegheny County are on the rise.
In 2012, VisitPittsburgh scheduled 576 conventions and meetings, compared to 538 in 2011.
