June 11, 2025 • 23 mins
Sports can unite a community. When a local team is doing well, people are excited. They’re happy and they want to invest in that team. But can a sports venue change a community? Hagerstown, Maryland may be the blueprint for other communities around the country.
In this week’s episode we’re heading to Western Maryland to discuss Hagerstown and Washington County.
One thing you’ll hear us talk about is the brand new, state of the art, minor league ballpark that opened about a year ago in Hagerstown. The community has hinged some rebuilding and revitalization hopes around this stadium, and it seems to be working. People are coming back to Hagerstown. They’re hanging around, investing in local business and in a lot of cases, even moving there. Hagerstown, and Washington County, is seeing a boom in new residents.
This podcast isn’t all about the growth of communities. We’re about giving you a reason to go visit a city or area. And we will give you plenty of reasons why you’re going to want to visit Washington County. From their national parks, to the ballpark and perfect small town feel, they have plenty for you to see.
With me this week is Dan Spedden. He’s the president of the Hagerstown and Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
In this week’s episode we’re heading to Western Maryland to discuss Hagerstown and Washington County.
One thing you’ll hear us talk about is the brand new, state of the art, minor league ballpark that opened about a year ago in Hagerstown. The community has hinged some rebuilding and revitalization hopes around this stadium, and it seems to be working. People are coming back to Hagerstown. They’re hanging around, investing in local business and in a lot of cases, even moving there. Hagerstown, and Washington County, is seeing a boom in new residents.
This podcast isn’t all about the growth of communities. We’re about giving you a reason to go visit a city or area. And we will give you plenty of reasons why you’re going to want to visit Washington County. From their national parks, to the ballpark and perfect small town feel, they have plenty for you to see.
With me this week is Dan Spedden. He’s the president of the Hagerstown and Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, what's up everyone. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre, and this is episode thirty three
of the show. If it's your first time checking out
the program, I appreciate your time seriously, thank you for
taking a listen. Delightful Destinations is a show that I
created so I can talk to representatives from different locations
around the country and just learn more about these beautiful
(00:22):
places that are all around us. I'm always looking for
an excuse to get away from home, and I hope
this show will help inspire you the next time you're
looking to escape the daily grind. Now, sports can united community.
We know that when a local team is doing well,
people are excited, they're happy, they want to invest in
that team, they want to be a part of something.
But can a sports venue change a community. Hagerstown, Maryland
(00:44):
may be the blueprint for other communities around the country,
and this week's episode, we're heading to western Maryland to
discuss Hagerstown and Washington County. Now, one thing you'll hear
us talk about is this brand new, state of the
art minor league ballpark that opened about a year ago
in Hagerstown. The community has hinged. I'm rebuilding in revitalization
hopes around this stadium, and so far it seems to
(01:04):
be working. People are coming back to hagar'stown, They're hanging around,
they're investing in local businesses, and a lot of cases
even moving there. Hagerstown in Washington County is seeing a
boom in new residence. Now, this podcast isn't about the
growth of communities. We're about giving you a reason to
go visit a city or an area. And we'll give
you plenty of reasons why you should go visit Washington County,
(01:26):
from their national parks to the ballpark and perfect small
town feel. They have plenty for you to see. With
me this week is Dan Speedden. He's the president of
the Hagerstown in Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. I
really hope you enjoy our conversation.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I know this is an audio podcast, so people can't
see this, but I'm looking at your picture here in
our chat and it looks like a baseball stadium. So
tell me about this. Why is this behind you?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
In our chat here, we're calling it the East coast
newest and most innovative ball park. It's just started its
second season of operation. It's built right in the heart
of downtown Hagerstown, which makes it a very walkable experience
getting to and from all the pubs and restaurants in
our downtown area. There's live music venues, there's convenient parking,
(02:11):
and there's this beautiful ballpark right in the middle of
the city.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I love, First of all, I love a minor league ballpark.
Second of all, I love ballparks that are right in
the city because you're right, I mean, being able to
go to a game, you know, stop buy somewhere before
or after, and just walk around that is such an
awesome experience.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Yeah, we were trying to renovate, you know, revitalize our
city's core. It was struggling like so many others, and
we were so focused on attracting businesses downtown that we
decided just to pivot and let's attract customers. Let's put
Veeta on the street and businesses will pop up organically.
So last year we drew one hundred and seventy five
(02:48):
thousand fans into the city's core.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
This year we're trending ahead of that already.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I love that you guys thought about that, because I
feel like so many people think short game, they don't
think long game. And I think what you guys were
thinking was long game. If we put this stadium here
in the center of our city, it's going to attract
people to come and hang out. And then, as you said,
if you have customers, businesses will follow, right Like, if
you try to put a business in with no customers,
it's never going to work. You got to have the
(03:15):
other way around, and people don't often think that way.
So I love that you guys had the wherewithal to
think about that.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, we studied ballpark construction all over the East Coast.
One of the byproducts of an urban ballpark is that
young and awkwardly mobile people move back into the city
when they all flee for opportunity elseware, they move back
into the city because all of a sudden, it's the
type of experience that they want. When the pubs and
restaurants pop up and they're thriving, it becomes a really
(03:43):
vibrant community, and you know, young people are attracted to
that and they.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Love the walk ability of it.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So what we're seeing a lot of is apartment renovations
and development.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I want to talk about Haggerstown for a second, because
for me, I've been in Maryland now for eighteen years,
and for me, Hagerstown was a place in western Maryland
that you heard about. There were outlets there, so some
folks would go to do some outlet shopping, but that
was essentially what you heard about Hagerstown. But in the
last few years, I'm hearing it a lot more, and
I was actually just kind of curious, so I looked
(04:14):
it up and it sounds like Hagerstown itself is on
a growth spurt. Hagerstown has been growing, and that's got
to make you guys feel good.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
It is Washington County is the whole county as well,
is following suit years of work, you know and enduring
you know, some tough times and paid off. Things are
really on the move now. In addition to the you know,
the new ballpark and environmant downtown, we have portions of
five National parks in Warriston County, Maryland, and up until
(04:43):
a few years ago, there were two entire states that
did not have a national park, Idaho and Delaware, and
here Mike County has portions of five of them, and
the Antieta National Battlefield, the Appalachian Trail and the c
and O Canal National.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Historical Park are probably the most popular.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
The c and O Canal is in the top five
most visited parks in the country.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Wows really, well, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
What's the one that's down? Is Cno still the one
that's down by d C. That's a little bit closer
to DC. Does it continue down that way?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Right?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
The canal starts at Georgetown and one hundred and eighty
four point five miles later you're in Cumberland, Maryland, and
the largest portion of that treks right through my county
and people love it. There's about seventy five hundred cyclists
who threw ride every year on the c and O Canal.
We've started a campaign to promote the canal experience. We're
(05:42):
calling Let's Go c and O and the Canal and
Beyond because not everyone wants to hike all day or cycle.
So there's a byway that roughly parallels the canal and
you can experience it from your windshield and spend the
night and you know, upscale lodging along the way, visit
wineries and distilleries, and spent a portion of your afternoon,
(06:04):
you know, walking the canal, exploring the history, the nature,
the beautiful scenery. There's so many images of young and
really athletic people, you know, out on the canal hiking
and cycling.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well that's that's not everybody a fun weekend.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
So what we're doing now is with three other counties,
we're promoting the Canal and beyond and we're trying to
get people into their beautiful historic towns that are along
the way.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I imagine because I remember hearing all about this when
the pandemic really started back in twenty twenty, and it
was people trying to find outdoor spaces that they could
enjoy because we weren't going anywhere, right, but being outside
was something that was promoted. I would imagine that those
areas started to see a big bump probably about four
or five years ago, with people trying to expand where
(06:51):
they were going and really enjoying that outdoor space.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, it's true, and you know, I've got data to
support it. In twenty twenty, our hotel revenue slumped for
about eight months, and then it bounced back with a vengeance.
Outdoor recreation was always our biggest well it's the biggest
reason people visit this county was for recreation. But COVID
made it much more popular and almost necessary, and people
(07:17):
got attach those experiences and they're not giving them up.
Our state parks are blowing up with visitors. Greenbrier State
Park had to implement a reservation system this year because
too many people are lining up to get in. So
it was really good for our tourism brand and people
became attached to it and they're still coming.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah. It's almost like people forgot the outdoors existed and
then once they realized it was there, they want to experience,
which is a good thing. Right, It's a good thing,
but it can also be a troublesome thing. Like you mentioned,
some places have had to go to reservation systems because
there's just too many people. But it is good that
people are enjoying the world around them.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, the swimming parks are the ones that are that.
It's just Greenbrier is a beautiful swim The lake is
just fantastic and it's super popular. So yeah, if you
want to come to Greenbrier, you got to get on
the book your space in advance.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I love it. Well, Dan, let's talk a little bit
more about the towns and other experiences there because my
brother actually lived in Idaho. It's funny you mentioned Idaho earlier,
and he was doing a cross country trip to move
back to the East coast and he had car trouble
over there in western Maryland. He was like, the towns
over here are really awesome, Like I really enjoy this
sort of like older you know town that we're driving through,
(08:30):
these historic, historic looking towns. Tell me more about that.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Yeah, So places like Sharpsburg, you know, which is associated
with the Battle of Antietam and it just shares a
border with the battlefield.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
And I just want to see an oak canal as well.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Boonsboro it's almost like it hasn't been touched in you know,
one hundred and fifty years. When you drive through the town,
you can picture you could picture what it looked like
all those years ago. There's no highway that you know,
disrupts it. It's very much of rural and agricultural community,
(09:04):
you know, with the Appalachian Trail bordering one side and
then the Antietam Battlefield right there south of it.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So Boomsboro is it's a beautiful town.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Williamsport is right on the Seao Canal and it was
Port forty four along the long the Potomac River for
the canal boats, and at one point it was going
to be our nation's capital. George Washington and the gang
laid out the town of Williamsport as if it was
going to be the nation's capital. That didn't happen, but
you could see evidence of that with the wide streets
(09:37):
and the way they laid it out with access to
the river. And then Clear Spring a little further west.
Very very small compared to the other two, but my gosh,
the rolling hills and the beautiful farmlands. It's just an
amazing place to just drive through on the old National Road.
You know, it's another one of our scenic byways.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
I gotta take off topic for just a second, Dan,
but I got to say one of the things that
I've really enjoyed as a result of doing this podcast
over the last year or so are the history lessons
that I've gotten from places and somebody else I had
spoken with, I forget who had mentioned about Williamsport almost
being the nation's capital. And there was a conversation I
had with someone from Portland, Maine. We were joking about Portland, Oregon,
(10:20):
and she was like, it was almost Boston, Oregon. Somebody
from Portland and somebody from Boston traveled out west and
they flipped a coin to decide who was going to
name the town they were in, and Portland won, so
they named it Portland, Oregon. And all of these random
things that I've learned as part of this podcast have
been such a joy. And to hear you talk about
that too, I mean, that's not something you learn history books,
(10:42):
right that Williamsport, Maryland almost became the capital of the
United States now.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
And I'm an accidental historian.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I studied the National sciences, you know, in preparation for
my career with Maryland Park Service, and I didn't know
much about history. And then I find myself managing, you know,
a cluster of five parks and there's two National Historic
Monuments on them, and I'm I just knew I had
to become a subject matter expert on all things, you know,
(11:10):
with Warston County if people were going to give me
any credibility as in that job.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
And then I carried that over into this career as
a you.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Know, as the president of the Convention Visitors Bureau. But
knowing all those things helps you know, market and promote
this people do find it fascinating.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
There's so many interesting things like that. And just going
into the Antietam National Battlefield, I mean, I remember I
grew up in New Hampshire. I remember that being such
a powerful story when we're learning about the Civil War,
like Antietam was such a massive part of that whole situation.
So even knowing that that's there in your county, I
know that how many you know, field trips and tour
(11:48):
groups must come through just looking at that particulars modelone.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
In the Battle of South Mountain, which which is a
state battlefield adjacent to Antietam. That battle precedes to Antito
by three days. To future presidents fought in the Battle
of South Mountain. Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were
both soldiers in that battle went on to become president
in later years. And then Abner Doubleday, who is associated
(12:16):
with the popularity of baseball in the United States. There's
a double Day field, you know, in Cooperstown. So Abner
double Day fought in the Battle of Antietam, and he
fought in South Mountain, Antietam, and then during the retreat
of Gettysburg, his Canton detachment harassed the Confederates crossing the
(12:38):
river and there's a Double Day Hill in Williamsport. So
he touches this county, you know, over a period of
two years and with some of the most storied battles
of the Civil War.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Now, be careful because you might have a third career
coming your way as a history teacher. I know, you
retire from the Park Service now you're doing that. I mean,
but you might be roped into being a history teacher
at some point too.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I can't avoid it.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
No, but it's good, it's good. You're right. I think
there is something too that I think people travel for history.
That is a big piece of travel in this country.
People love to experience the history. And here in Maryland
we have so much history. I mean, the country started
here in the mid Atlantic and the Northeast, like along
this east coast. This is where the country was founded.
There's so many things here that you cannot get in
(13:25):
so many other parts of this country. So yeah, I mean,
it's fascinating stuff that you have.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
We even have the only remaining stone fort from the
French in Indian War.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
So that is Fort Frederick State Park, and the ford
had become a little bit of a ruin. But then
during the Great Depression, the Simple Conservation Corps dug out
the plans for it and completely restored it. And you know,
we built a park around it, which is a really
unique experience. If you've never seen Fort Frederick State Park,
(13:56):
the next time you're on seventy, go Old West. Take
ten minutes to get off the highway and see it.
It's so impressive.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I have to do it. I've only really been out
that way a couple of times, and that's unfortunate. I
feel bad about that because I know there is so
much beauty out there. There's so many things to experience.
And even after this conversation, I've been speaking with you
for about what fourteen fifteen minutes, now you really like
it just inspiring so much in me to come out
and see what you have, because it sounds incredible out there.
(14:25):
I might embarrassed that I haven't experienced more of it
at this point.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Well, I always tell people we're seventy miles from the
heart of Baltimore, seventy miles from the heart of DC,
like a big Isosceles triangle. Now, im me in tourism,
so you exaggerate the mile. It's a little bit because
you like the alliteration or to make it simple to remember,
but it's just about seventy miles from the core of
(14:50):
both cities.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
We're not that far away. So if you need to
escape the city for the weekend, we are.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
You know, we invest very little time in your ride,
and you're in a whole different environment when you're here.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
This might be a redundant question because of what we
talked about so far here, but just what you were
talking about, you know, getting people just to come in
for a weekend, just escape their cities and come explore
the Hagerstown in Washington County area. What is the tourist
that you're trying to attract is there? You know, do
you have like in the radio station, we have a
sheet of this is who is listening to your radio
station right now, and we're trying to appeal to that person.
(15:23):
Who are you trying to appeal to.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
That's the hardest part of this job.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
You think ocean city, you think beach and boardwalkure Brston
County is ten different things, so it's hard to have
a laser focused campaign to bring visitors here. Outdoor recreation
is the number one reason people visit and recreational trail
use is the number one activity. Collateral to that, the
(15:52):
history is fascinating and interesting, but mostly people come out
here to recreate and are drawn in by the history.
We're part of the heart of the Civil War Heritage Area,
one of thirteen sanctioned heritage areas in Maryland, and we
do appeal to the cultural historical traveler as well. But
then we do a lot with youth sports. So now
(16:14):
you're coming here just to see your daughter's softball team
play in a tournament all weekend. You had nothing to
do with the National Parks or in French and Indian
War history. You're just here because the travel team dragged
you out here, and while you're here, you're looking around
and thinking, wow, this is a beautiful place. So we're
(16:34):
also a convenience stopover on I eighty one people traveling
north and south on I eighty one, whether it's for
business or leisure or snowbirds. Every winter, we are convenient
and affordable stopover along the way, so we saturate I
eighty one with digital ads just halfway boulevards where all
(16:55):
our hotels are clustered, So we take advantage of that
if you're going from Canada to Florida, you're halfway there
and halfway boulevard. So spend the night, spend two nights
and take a few minutes to look around the county,
visit Antietam, do something different.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
So those are like four.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Reasons why people visit here, and I got to give
equal weight to all of them, Like I just I
don't have that one, you know, giant ski resort or
something that would just a casino that would give our
advertising laser focus. We played that game in a lot
of different fields, trying to attract a lot of different travelers.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
This podcast is primarily based around traveling and getting people
to experience different places, but also hearing you discuss like
Hagerstown in Washington County, I'm thinking about my own personal experience.
My brother in law, he and his wife got a
job in Frederick, and when they were looking for a
place to live, I heard you mentioned affordability. They were like,
Hagerstown is the place to go, and they ended up
(17:53):
living right around Hagerstown. Don't know if it was Haggerstown
proper or just outside of it, but they lived there
and they were commuting to Frederick, and I I wonder
if Hagerstown is kind of benefiting from some of that
situation too, where like, it's a beautiful little area and
it's not, like you said, not terribly far from a
lot of other places.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
No, if you're young, well educated, and even a good
wage runner and you can't afford to live in Frederick,
it's only twenty five mile.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Commute to Hagerstown.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
So it's true the out migration from Montgomery County and
Frederick County and then from Frederick County to Hagerstown of
Warriston County is a reality because the people who are
well equipped for life are still trying to find a
way to afford to living in Frederick. And we're actually
still affordable here. So that's changed in the education demographic
(18:42):
and the income demographic of our county.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So something else I saw over on your website visit
Hagerstown dot com. I believe that's right. Yeah, visit Haggerstown
dot com. I saw the grapes and Grains trail, and
I love these. A lot of counties have started putting
these together, these wineries and breweries, Experience says, because that's
become a big travel thing too. People will come into
the area to go experience different things. Do you have
(19:05):
any knowledge of that? Do you want to share some
info about that?
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Sure? And it's you know, ten years ago we were
jealous because Frederick County had ten breweries and we had won,
and now we have like fifteen.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
So we laced them together.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
You know, it's just in a simple brochure and a
mobile app that you can follow and collect them. All
these trails are popular. We also have a pottery trail.
We have so many potters in this community, artisans who
do beautiful work and people would you know, you can't
visit them all in one day, but you just get
(19:40):
that brochure and you just hit three or four of them.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
It's just a really cool experience.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Since the stadium opened, we've added two breweries and a
distillery to our downtown.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
The stadium really seems to be paying dividends for you.
I mean, it just opened up last year, but you
sound like you're really feeling the impact of it already.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
We are.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
When Senate Build nine twenty six passed in the Maryland
legislature to create the stadium, that's what investors parked up
not after we opened last year. They had a three
year lead time because we had to acquire land, we
had to do demolition, we had to have almost two
years of construction, and that gave developers and investors, you know,
(20:21):
a window of opportunity to open simultaneous to the stadium and.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Not lag behind it a few years.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
But yeah, the smart people were tracking that legislation and
taking that it's time to invest, it's time to pull
the trigger.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
In Hagerstown, things are changing.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I'm thinking about the last time I saw a stadium
get built, and it was National's Park, and I remember
going down right when they opened the park. It was
right around the financial crisis in two thousand and eight,
I believe, so there were some sparse areas around there
because people kind of lost money and weren't planning on that.
But now you go down there and you can just
see what the park has meant to that particular area
(20:58):
of Washington, d C. I mean, it's US apartments, restaurants, bars,
everything along the wall. I mean, it is a beautiful
experience for a day. And I'm just picturing all of
that coming your way in the future in Hagerstown as
you're talking about this, because it sounds so similar. It's
we got to put this park in here and then
everything else will come. It's like the field of dreams.
(21:20):
If you build it, they will come, right.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, it was it was a difficult project to win
acceptance for because although my family and I studied this
and a lot of the collaborators did, it was hard
to get people to understand it, and it was hard
to get them to go see it. Go see it
in these other towns. Look what happened there, And we've
(21:43):
had plenty of examples, but it was just there was
a lot of centencesm you know, negativity.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
But you know, we live in a state was a
powerful stadium authority.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
You know that that organization has transitioned to a lot
of communities inadvertently. It's not even their job to do that.
It happens organically. So it's a big part of economic development.
A community has to be willing to invest in itself.
The state has to be willing to invest in it
before private investor would risk everything.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
They have to do that.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
They don't want to be the urban pioneer in Hagerstown.
They want to know they're going to succeed. And when
they see the community invest in itself, then they know
they have a solid partner.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Well, Dan, I feel like we're wrapping things up the
way that we started here talking about the stadium. Before
we do officially wrap it up. Where do people go
to find out more info and start planning their trip
to Hagerstown.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
So visit Haggerstown dot com. We get really good search
engine results there. There's only two Hagarstowns in all of America.
We're the biggest one, so we're just hit Visit Haggerstown
dot com. The website's laid out very nice, so we
also have a mobile app. I think the mobile app
is an in market navigating tool. If you want to
learn about the community and plan your visit, go to
(22:58):
the website. We have beautiful, well branded hotels are very
affordable here in our community. That's one of the big draws,
especially for sports tournaments, is that you can still afford
to stay here.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Dan Spedden, the President of the Hagerstown in Washington County
Convention and Visitors Bureau. Dan, it's been a pleasure talking
to you. I feel like I learned so much today
during this conversation, from tourism to history. We covered it all.
But I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Yeah, thanks for having me this is fun.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Big thank you to Dan Speddin for his time again.
If you want more info and you want to start
planning your visit, please check out visit Hagerstown dot com.
And thank you for all of you for listening this
week to delightful destinations. Until next time, be well,
Hey, what's up everyone. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre, and this is episode thirty three
of the show. If it's your first time checking out
the program, I appreciate your time seriously, thank you for
taking a listen. Delightful Destinations is a show that I
created so I can talk to representatives from different locations
around the country and just learn more about these beautiful
(00:22):
places that are all around us. I'm always looking for
an excuse to get away from home, and I hope
this show will help inspire you the next time you're
looking to escape the daily grind. Now, sports can united community.
We know that when a local team is doing well,
people are excited, they're happy, they want to invest in
that team, they want to be a part of something.
But can a sports venue change a community. Hagerstown, Maryland
(00:44):
may be the blueprint for other communities around the country,
and this week's episode, we're heading to western Maryland to
discuss Hagerstown and Washington County. Now, one thing you'll hear
us talk about is this brand new, state of the
art minor league ballpark that opened about a year ago
in Hagerstown. The community has hinged. I'm rebuilding in revitalization
hopes around this stadium, and so far it seems to
(01:04):
be working. People are coming back to hagar'stown, They're hanging around,
they're investing in local businesses, and a lot of cases
even moving there. Hagerstown in Washington County is seeing a
boom in new residence. Now, this podcast isn't about the
growth of communities. We're about giving you a reason to
go visit a city or an area. And we'll give
you plenty of reasons why you should go visit Washington County,
(01:26):
from their national parks to the ballpark and perfect small
town feel. They have plenty for you to see. With
me this week is Dan Speedden. He's the president of
the Hagerstown in Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. I
really hope you enjoy our conversation.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I know this is an audio podcast, so people can't
see this, but I'm looking at your picture here in
our chat and it looks like a baseball stadium. So
tell me about this. Why is this behind you?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
In our chat here, we're calling it the East coast
newest and most innovative ball park. It's just started its
second season of operation. It's built right in the heart
of downtown Hagerstown, which makes it a very walkable experience
getting to and from all the pubs and restaurants in
our downtown area. There's live music venues, there's convenient parking,
(02:11):
and there's this beautiful ballpark right in the middle of
the city.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I love, First of all, I love a minor league ballpark.
Second of all, I love ballparks that are right in
the city because you're right, I mean, being able to
go to a game, you know, stop buy somewhere before
or after, and just walk around that is such an
awesome experience.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Yeah, we were trying to renovate, you know, revitalize our
city's core. It was struggling like so many others, and
we were so focused on attracting businesses downtown that we
decided just to pivot and let's attract customers. Let's put
Veeta on the street and businesses will pop up organically.
So last year we drew one hundred and seventy five
(02:48):
thousand fans into the city's core.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
This year we're trending ahead of that already.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I love that you guys thought about that, because I
feel like so many people think short game, they don't
think long game. And I think what you guys were
thinking was long game. If we put this stadium here
in the center of our city, it's going to attract
people to come and hang out. And then, as you said,
if you have customers, businesses will follow, right Like, if
you try to put a business in with no customers,
it's never going to work. You got to have the
(03:15):
other way around, and people don't often think that way.
So I love that you guys had the wherewithal to
think about that.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, we studied ballpark construction all over the East Coast.
One of the byproducts of an urban ballpark is that
young and awkwardly mobile people move back into the city
when they all flee for opportunity elseware, they move back
into the city because all of a sudden, it's the
type of experience that they want. When the pubs and
restaurants pop up and they're thriving, it becomes a really
(03:43):
vibrant community, and you know, young people are attracted to
that and they.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Love the walk ability of it.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So what we're seeing a lot of is apartment renovations
and development.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I want to talk about Haggerstown for a second, because
for me, I've been in Maryland now for eighteen years,
and for me, Hagerstown was a place in western Maryland
that you heard about. There were outlets there, so some
folks would go to do some outlet shopping, but that
was essentially what you heard about Hagerstown. But in the
last few years, I'm hearing it a lot more, and
I was actually just kind of curious, so I looked
(04:14):
it up and it sounds like Hagerstown itself is on
a growth spurt. Hagerstown has been growing, and that's got
to make you guys feel good.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
It is Washington County is the whole county as well,
is following suit years of work, you know and enduring
you know, some tough times and paid off. Things are
really on the move now. In addition to the you know,
the new ballpark and environmant downtown, we have portions of
five National parks in Warriston County, Maryland, and up until
(04:43):
a few years ago, there were two entire states that
did not have a national park, Idaho and Delaware, and
here Mike County has portions of five of them, and
the Antieta National Battlefield, the Appalachian Trail and the c
and O Canal National.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Historical Park are probably the most popular.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
The c and O Canal is in the top five
most visited parks in the country.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Wows really, well, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
What's the one that's down? Is Cno still the one
that's down by d C. That's a little bit closer
to DC. Does it continue down that way?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Right?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
The canal starts at Georgetown and one hundred and eighty
four point five miles later you're in Cumberland, Maryland, and
the largest portion of that treks right through my county
and people love it. There's about seventy five hundred cyclists
who threw ride every year on the c and O Canal.
We've started a campaign to promote the canal experience. We're
(05:42):
calling Let's Go c and O and the Canal and
Beyond because not everyone wants to hike all day or cycle.
So there's a byway that roughly parallels the canal and
you can experience it from your windshield and spend the
night and you know, upscale lodging along the way, visit
wineries and distilleries, and spent a portion of your afternoon,
(06:04):
you know, walking the canal, exploring the history, the nature,
the beautiful scenery. There's so many images of young and
really athletic people, you know, out on the canal hiking
and cycling.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well that's that's not everybody a fun weekend.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
So what we're doing now is with three other counties,
we're promoting the Canal and beyond and we're trying to
get people into their beautiful historic towns that are along
the way.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I imagine because I remember hearing all about this when
the pandemic really started back in twenty twenty, and it
was people trying to find outdoor spaces that they could
enjoy because we weren't going anywhere, right, but being outside
was something that was promoted. I would imagine that those
areas started to see a big bump probably about four
or five years ago, with people trying to expand where
(06:51):
they were going and really enjoying that outdoor space.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, it's true, and you know, I've got data to
support it. In twenty twenty, our hotel revenue slumped for
about eight months, and then it bounced back with a vengeance.
Outdoor recreation was always our biggest well it's the biggest
reason people visit this county was for recreation. But COVID
made it much more popular and almost necessary, and people
(07:17):
got attach those experiences and they're not giving them up.
Our state parks are blowing up with visitors. Greenbrier State
Park had to implement a reservation system this year because
too many people are lining up to get in. So
it was really good for our tourism brand and people
became attached to it and they're still coming.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah. It's almost like people forgot the outdoors existed and
then once they realized it was there, they want to experience,
which is a good thing. Right, It's a good thing,
but it can also be a troublesome thing. Like you mentioned,
some places have had to go to reservation systems because
there's just too many people. But it is good that
people are enjoying the world around them.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, the swimming parks are the ones that are that.
It's just Greenbrier is a beautiful swim The lake is
just fantastic and it's super popular. So yeah, if you
want to come to Greenbrier, you got to get on
the book your space in advance.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I love it. Well, Dan, let's talk a little bit
more about the towns and other experiences there because my
brother actually lived in Idaho. It's funny you mentioned Idaho earlier,
and he was doing a cross country trip to move
back to the East coast and he had car trouble
over there in western Maryland. He was like, the towns
over here are really awesome, Like I really enjoy this
sort of like older you know town that we're driving through,
(08:30):
these historic, historic looking towns. Tell me more about that.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Yeah, So places like Sharpsburg, you know, which is associated
with the Battle of Antietam and it just shares a
border with the battlefield.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
And I just want to see an oak canal as well.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Boonsboro it's almost like it hasn't been touched in you know,
one hundred and fifty years. When you drive through the town,
you can picture you could picture what it looked like
all those years ago. There's no highway that you know,
disrupts it. It's very much of rural and agricultural community,
(09:04):
you know, with the Appalachian Trail bordering one side and
then the Antietam Battlefield right there south of it.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So Boomsboro is it's a beautiful town.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Williamsport is right on the Seao Canal and it was
Port forty four along the long the Potomac River for
the canal boats, and at one point it was going
to be our nation's capital. George Washington and the gang
laid out the town of Williamsport as if it was
going to be the nation's capital. That didn't happen, but
you could see evidence of that with the wide streets
(09:37):
and the way they laid it out with access to
the river. And then Clear Spring a little further west.
Very very small compared to the other two, but my gosh,
the rolling hills and the beautiful farmlands. It's just an
amazing place to just drive through on the old National Road.
You know, it's another one of our scenic byways.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
I gotta take off topic for just a second, Dan,
but I got to say one of the things that
I've really enjoyed as a result of doing this podcast
over the last year or so are the history lessons
that I've gotten from places and somebody else I had
spoken with, I forget who had mentioned about Williamsport almost
being the nation's capital. And there was a conversation I
had with someone from Portland, Maine. We were joking about Portland, Oregon,
(10:20):
and she was like, it was almost Boston, Oregon. Somebody
from Portland and somebody from Boston traveled out west and
they flipped a coin to decide who was going to
name the town they were in, and Portland won, so
they named it Portland, Oregon. And all of these random
things that I've learned as part of this podcast have
been such a joy. And to hear you talk about
that too, I mean, that's not something you learn history books,
(10:42):
right that Williamsport, Maryland almost became the capital of the
United States now.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
And I'm an accidental historian.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I studied the National sciences, you know, in preparation for
my career with Maryland Park Service, and I didn't know
much about history. And then I find myself managing, you know,
a cluster of five parks and there's two National Historic
Monuments on them, and I'm I just knew I had
to become a subject matter expert on all things, you know,
(11:10):
with Warston County if people were going to give me
any credibility as in that job.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
And then I carried that over into this career as
a you.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Know, as the president of the Convention Visitors Bureau. But
knowing all those things helps you know, market and promote
this people do find it fascinating.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
There's so many interesting things like that. And just going
into the Antietam National Battlefield, I mean, I remember I
grew up in New Hampshire. I remember that being such
a powerful story when we're learning about the Civil War,
like Antietam was such a massive part of that whole situation.
So even knowing that that's there in your county, I
know that how many you know, field trips and tour
(11:48):
groups must come through just looking at that particulars modelone.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
In the Battle of South Mountain, which which is a
state battlefield adjacent to Antietam. That battle precedes to Antito
by three days. To future presidents fought in the Battle
of South Mountain. Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were
both soldiers in that battle went on to become president
in later years. And then Abner Doubleday, who is associated
(12:16):
with the popularity of baseball in the United States. There's
a double Day field, you know, in Cooperstown. So Abner
double Day fought in the Battle of Antietam, and he
fought in South Mountain, Antietam, and then during the retreat
of Gettysburg, his Canton detachment harassed the Confederates crossing the
(12:38):
river and there's a Double Day Hill in Williamsport. So
he touches this county, you know, over a period of
two years and with some of the most storied battles
of the Civil War.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Now, be careful because you might have a third career
coming your way as a history teacher. I know, you
retire from the Park Service now you're doing that. I mean,
but you might be roped into being a history teacher
at some point too.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I can't avoid it.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
No, but it's good, it's good. You're right. I think
there is something too that I think people travel for history.
That is a big piece of travel in this country.
People love to experience the history. And here in Maryland
we have so much history. I mean, the country started
here in the mid Atlantic and the Northeast, like along
this east coast. This is where the country was founded.
There's so many things here that you cannot get in
(13:25):
so many other parts of this country. So yeah, I mean,
it's fascinating stuff that you have.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
We even have the only remaining stone fort from the
French in Indian War.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
So that is Fort Frederick State Park, and the ford
had become a little bit of a ruin. But then
during the Great Depression, the Simple Conservation Corps dug out
the plans for it and completely restored it. And you know,
we built a park around it, which is a really
unique experience. If you've never seen Fort Frederick State Park,
(13:56):
the next time you're on seventy, go Old West. Take
ten minutes to get off the highway and see it.
It's so impressive.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I have to do it. I've only really been out
that way a couple of times, and that's unfortunate. I
feel bad about that because I know there is so
much beauty out there. There's so many things to experience.
And even after this conversation, I've been speaking with you
for about what fourteen fifteen minutes, now you really like
it just inspiring so much in me to come out
and see what you have, because it sounds incredible out there.
(14:25):
I might embarrassed that I haven't experienced more of it
at this point.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Well, I always tell people we're seventy miles from the
heart of Baltimore, seventy miles from the heart of DC,
like a big Isosceles triangle. Now, im me in tourism,
so you exaggerate the mile. It's a little bit because
you like the alliteration or to make it simple to remember,
but it's just about seventy miles from the core of
(14:50):
both cities.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
We're not that far away. So if you need to
escape the city for the weekend, we are.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
You know, we invest very little time in your ride,
and you're in a whole different environment when you're here.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
This might be a redundant question because of what we
talked about so far here, but just what you were
talking about, you know, getting people just to come in
for a weekend, just escape their cities and come explore
the Hagerstown in Washington County area. What is the tourist
that you're trying to attract is there? You know, do
you have like in the radio station, we have a
sheet of this is who is listening to your radio
station right now, and we're trying to appeal to that person.
(15:23):
Who are you trying to appeal to.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
That's the hardest part of this job.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
You think ocean city, you think beach and boardwalkure Brston
County is ten different things, so it's hard to have
a laser focused campaign to bring visitors here. Outdoor recreation
is the number one reason people visit and recreational trail
use is the number one activity. Collateral to that, the
(15:52):
history is fascinating and interesting, but mostly people come out
here to recreate and are drawn in by the history.
We're part of the heart of the Civil War Heritage Area,
one of thirteen sanctioned heritage areas in Maryland, and we
do appeal to the cultural historical traveler as well. But
then we do a lot with youth sports. So now
(16:14):
you're coming here just to see your daughter's softball team
play in a tournament all weekend. You had nothing to
do with the National Parks or in French and Indian
War history. You're just here because the travel team dragged
you out here, and while you're here, you're looking around
and thinking, wow, this is a beautiful place. So we're
(16:34):
also a convenience stopover on I eighty one people traveling
north and south on I eighty one, whether it's for
business or leisure or snowbirds. Every winter, we are convenient
and affordable stopover along the way, so we saturate I
eighty one with digital ads just halfway boulevards where all
(16:55):
our hotels are clustered, So we take advantage of that
if you're going from Canada to Florida, you're halfway there
and halfway boulevard. So spend the night, spend two nights
and take a few minutes to look around the county,
visit Antietam, do something different.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
So those are like four.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Reasons why people visit here, and I got to give
equal weight to all of them, Like I just I
don't have that one, you know, giant ski resort or
something that would just a casino that would give our
advertising laser focus. We played that game in a lot
of different fields, trying to attract a lot of different travelers.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
This podcast is primarily based around traveling and getting people
to experience different places, but also hearing you discuss like
Hagerstown in Washington County, I'm thinking about my own personal experience.
My brother in law, he and his wife got a
job in Frederick, and when they were looking for a
place to live, I heard you mentioned affordability. They were like,
Hagerstown is the place to go, and they ended up
(17:53):
living right around Hagerstown. Don't know if it was Haggerstown
proper or just outside of it, but they lived there
and they were commuting to Frederick, and I I wonder
if Hagerstown is kind of benefiting from some of that
situation too, where like, it's a beautiful little area and
it's not, like you said, not terribly far from a
lot of other places.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
No, if you're young, well educated, and even a good
wage runner and you can't afford to live in Frederick,
it's only twenty five mile.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Commute to Hagerstown.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
So it's true the out migration from Montgomery County and
Frederick County and then from Frederick County to Hagerstown of
Warriston County is a reality because the people who are
well equipped for life are still trying to find a
way to afford to living in Frederick. And we're actually
still affordable here. So that's changed in the education demographic
(18:42):
and the income demographic of our county.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So something else I saw over on your website visit
Hagerstown dot com. I believe that's right. Yeah, visit Haggerstown
dot com. I saw the grapes and Grains trail, and
I love these. A lot of counties have started putting
these together, these wineries and breweries, Experience says, because that's
become a big travel thing too. People will come into
the area to go experience different things. Do you have
(19:05):
any knowledge of that? Do you want to share some
info about that?
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Sure? And it's you know, ten years ago we were
jealous because Frederick County had ten breweries and we had won,
and now we have like fifteen.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
So we laced them together.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
You know, it's just in a simple brochure and a
mobile app that you can follow and collect them. All
these trails are popular. We also have a pottery trail.
We have so many potters in this community, artisans who
do beautiful work and people would you know, you can't
visit them all in one day, but you just get
(19:40):
that brochure and you just hit three or four of them.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
It's just a really cool experience.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Since the stadium opened, we've added two breweries and a
distillery to our downtown.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
The stadium really seems to be paying dividends for you.
I mean, it just opened up last year, but you
sound like you're really feeling the impact of it already.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
We are.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
When Senate Build nine twenty six passed in the Maryland
legislature to create the stadium, that's what investors parked up
not after we opened last year. They had a three
year lead time because we had to acquire land, we
had to do demolition, we had to have almost two
years of construction, and that gave developers and investors, you know,
(20:21):
a window of opportunity to open simultaneous to the stadium and.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Not lag behind it a few years.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
But yeah, the smart people were tracking that legislation and
taking that it's time to invest, it's time to pull
the trigger.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
In Hagerstown, things are changing.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I'm thinking about the last time I saw a stadium
get built, and it was National's Park, and I remember
going down right when they opened the park. It was
right around the financial crisis in two thousand and eight,
I believe, so there were some sparse areas around there
because people kind of lost money and weren't planning on that.
But now you go down there and you can just
see what the park has meant to that particular area
(20:58):
of Washington, d C. I mean, it's US apartments, restaurants, bars,
everything along the wall. I mean, it is a beautiful
experience for a day. And I'm just picturing all of
that coming your way in the future in Hagerstown as
you're talking about this, because it sounds so similar. It's
we got to put this park in here and then
everything else will come. It's like the field of dreams.
(21:20):
If you build it, they will come, right.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, it was it was a difficult project to win
acceptance for because although my family and I studied this
and a lot of the collaborators did, it was hard
to get people to understand it, and it was hard
to get them to go see it. Go see it
in these other towns. Look what happened there, And we've
(21:43):
had plenty of examples, but it was just there was
a lot of centencesm you know, negativity.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
But you know, we live in a state was a
powerful stadium authority.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
You know that that organization has transitioned to a lot
of communities inadvertently. It's not even their job to do that.
It happens organically. So it's a big part of economic development.
A community has to be willing to invest in itself.
The state has to be willing to invest in it
before private investor would risk everything.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
They have to do that.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
They don't want to be the urban pioneer in Hagerstown.
They want to know they're going to succeed. And when
they see the community invest in itself, then they know
they have a solid partner.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Well, Dan, I feel like we're wrapping things up the
way that we started here talking about the stadium. Before
we do officially wrap it up. Where do people go
to find out more info and start planning their trip
to Hagerstown.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
So visit Haggerstown dot com. We get really good search
engine results there. There's only two Hagarstowns in all of America.
We're the biggest one, so we're just hit Visit Haggerstown
dot com. The website's laid out very nice, so we
also have a mobile app. I think the mobile app
is an in market navigating tool. If you want to
learn about the community and plan your visit, go to
(22:58):
the website. We have beautiful, well branded hotels are very
affordable here in our community. That's one of the big draws,
especially for sports tournaments, is that you can still afford
to stay here.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Dan Spedden, the President of the Hagerstown in Washington County
Convention and Visitors Bureau. Dan, it's been a pleasure talking
to you. I feel like I learned so much today
during this conversation, from tourism to history. We covered it all.
But I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Yeah, thanks for having me this is fun.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Big thank you to Dan Speddin for his time again.
If you want more info and you want to start
planning your visit, please check out visit Hagerstown dot com.
And thank you for all of you for listening this
week to delightful destinations. Until next time, be well,
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.