A new study from AAA and Bread Financial finds younger generations are driving a surge in live event travel. Approximately three in five Gen Z (65%) and Millennial (58%) respondents confirmed they have traveled in the past 12 months and/or plan to travel in the next 12 months for in-person events like concerts, sporting events, comedy shows, and book readings that are more than 50 miles from home. This compares to 43% of Gen X and just 27% of Baby Boomers.

Going the Extra Mile and Spending the Extra Dollar
More than half (53%) of Gen Z travelers have or plan to head to live events by plane, the most of any generation, and are willing to go the extra mile, literally! Twice as many (18%) Gen Z travelers say they have or would be willing to go more than 1,500 miles – the distance of half of the continental United States – compared to only 9% of Baby Boomer travelers.

“Traveling to live events has become a preferred pastime for the younger generations,” according to Bevi Powell, senior vice president, AAA East Central. “Many Gen Z and Millennials consider the journey to be as enjoyable as the destination and are willing to spend more to attend their favorite sporting events, cheer for their favorite sports teams and enjoy their favorite artists in person. They simply don’t want to miss out on the experience of a lifetime.,” she added.

Younger generations spend the most for a good time, as nearly two in five Gen Z (37%) and Millennial (39%) travelers have spent between $500 and $5,000+ on tickets alone for destination live events. To afford this, approximately two in five Millennial (42%) and Gen Z (37%) travelers are willing to dip into their savings to pay for travel costs for a live event. About a third of those travelers would consider taking up a side hustle to pay for their event travel. The younger generations are also getting creative to cut costs with nearly half of Millennial and Gen Z travelers saying they already have or would travel internationally to score cheaper tickets.

Sports and Music Important to Gen Z Travelers 
The youngest generation is driving concert travel with more than half (52%) of Gen Z travelers planning to attend a music event in the next 12 months. Artists themselves can influence Gen Z’s travel habits as one in five travelers (20%) have traveled or plan to travel to a Taylor Swift concert.

Gen Z is also most likely to travel to some of the bigger sports events. Nearly two in five (38%) Gen Z travelers have traveled or are planning to travel for the 2025 Super Bowl, 32% have traveled or are planning to travel to the 2024 NBA finals, and 19% have traveled or are planning to travel for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Must Go Due to FOMO
FOMO (fear of missing out) also plays a substantial role in influencing live event ticket purchases with more than one-third (34%) of all travelers admitting it played a role in their decision. While Gen Z travelers (54%) most often feel compelled to make event travel purchases based on FOMO, 83% of Baby Boomers say they resist such pressures. Additionally, younger generations (Gen Z – 44%, Millennials – 43%) emerge as the demographics most pressured into spending money on events they didn’t want to attend.

Top Destinations for Event Travel
More than three in four (79%) travelers are eager to head to their dream event location, with New York, Florida, and California being the most popular states and Las Vegas and Chicago the top cities. Travelers are also shaping their plans around famous event venues like Madison Square Garden (38%), Las Vegas Sphere (38%), and Radio City Music Hall (31%).

While at their destination, travelers want to take time to sightsee and explore before and/or after a live event with 62% noting they have included or are planning to bake in additional vacation time. Gen Z (72%) and Millennials (68%) lead the charge on extra time spent at a destination compared to Gen X (56%) and Baby Boomers (51%).

Often, travel expenses come with a hefty price tag because of skyrocketing event ticket prices. Top reasons for staying home differed between generations with Millennials most likely to skip an event due to an inability to take time off from work (37%), while Gen Z was most concerned about budget or debt worries (38%).

“While younger generations are driving the trend, this survey highlights the ways different generations are thinking about traveling to events and how they save for and spend around experiential moments in time,” said Nick Antonelli, chief marketing officer at Bread Financial. “These results show that while plenty of consumers are hitting the road for fun events, many are cognizant of their budgets, and being purposeful around achieving a healthy balance between managing their finances and desire to travel and attend live events.”

Survey Methodology
This was an online survey of 1,654 U.S. respondents 18+ who have traveled or are planning to travel for live event(s) in the past/next 12 months. The survey was conducted from March 5 to 8, 2024.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing lane restrictions on Steubenville Pike (Route 60) in Robinson Township, Allegheny County will begin Monday, June 3 weather permitting.

Single-lane and shoulder restrictions will occur on northbound Steubenville Pike between the I-79 north and south interchange ramps around-the-clock beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, June 3 through 3 p.m. Monday, June 24 to allow crews to conduct overhead bridge substructure repair work.

Work on this $14.97 million highway restoration project in Robinson and Kennedy townships began in early April. The project begins at the I-376 Airport/Pittsburgh (Exit 59 A/B) interchange and continues approximately one-half mile north of the Route 60 Moon Run/Crafton (Exit 60 A/B) interchange. Work includes concrete pavement patching, guide rail and cable barrier replacement, highway lighting and signing updates, drainage work, pavement markings and other miscellaneous construction activities on mainline I-79 and ten ramps (four at the I-376 interchange and six ramps at the Route 60 interchange). There will be bridge preservation work on six structures (northbound and southbound I-79 bridges over I-376, Route 60, and Campbells Run Road), including concrete deck overlays, replacement of seals at expansion dams and deck joints, substructure concrete repairs, cleaning of bridge bearings and spot painting of the northbound and southbound I-79 steel I-beam bridges over I-376. The majority of the roadway work along mainline I-79 will be performed under short-term, single-lane closures during nighttime restrictions. There will be long-term lane restrictions in place for the bridge work, including six weekend-long lane restrictions. Additionally, there will be milling and paving operations on Route 60 between Lorish Road and Old Steubenville Pike, preservation work of six existing sign structures (one on northbound I-79 and five on southbound I-79) as well as concrete repairs and scour protection of two arch culverts underneath mainline I-79 and several ramps.  The project is anticipated to conclude in the late spring of 2025.

The prime contractor is Golden Triangle Construction Company, Inc. Work on this project will be coordinated with other projects in the area.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 31, 2024 1:42 P.M.

(Ambridge, Pa) Michael, Motton, 34, is lodged in the Beaver County Jail on $900,000 bail. He is charged with 4 felony counts of manufacturing, delivering or possession with intent and 4 misdemeanors. The warrant was served Wednesday by police and the PA Attorney’s Drug Task Force.

Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 30, 2024 2:20 P.M.

(Ambridge, Pa) On Wednesday, with a body warrant issued that led to a search of an apartment, 2 suspects were arrested and placed in the Beaver County Jail. The search revealed 14,000 fentanyl pills, 110.7 grams of fentanyl powder, 104.5 Xanax pills, 19.26 grams of cocaine, 26.7 grams of  powder cocaine, a bag of unknown pills broken into powder form, and $2,725 in U.S. currency, as well as drug paraphernalia.

The jury in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial will soon resume deliberations after asking to rehear potentially crucial testimony about the alleged scheme at the heart of the history-making case. The  jury met for 4 1/2 hours of deliberations Wednesday without reaching a verdict and will return Thursday. The jury asked to rehear testimony from a tabloid publisher and Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer. The jurors also requested to revisit at least part of the judge’s instructions to them. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee denies any wrongdoing.

As part of its ongoing effort to protect Pennsylvania roadways, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) today released the results of their annual Memorial Day Weekend enforcement detail.

During the four-day period from May 24 – 27, the PSP investigated 756 crashes that resulted in 181 injuries and six fatalities. Intoxicated driving was a factor in 46 of those crashes, one of which was fatal.

Troopers arrested 467 motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and issued 28,036 citations,

Showers and thunderstorms will move slowly across the area today.
Some moderate to heavy rainfall rates may accompany any stronger
shower and create a localized flooding concern, especially in urban
areas and in locations that see several rounds of rain. In addition,
atmospheric conditions may promote brief funnel clouds or cold air
funnels, but instances of making contact with the ground will be
rare.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 29, 2024 1:37 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) Graduation exercises will be held at 6 p.m. at the high school Thursday. The elementary and junior senior high school students will only be in school for a half day of classes, a message from Dr. Phillip K. Woods, superintendent,  reported in a letter to parents. Sixth graders graduated on Tuesday night, and the event was live streamed from the elementary school.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 29, 2024 1:34 P.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) Nora Janicki will be retiring from her position in August 2024 and Chrissy Abiraj- Rubino was hired to replace her. Mrs. Rubino will begin  transitioning to her duties on June 3, 2024. Her salary will be $17 an hour.