Gov. Josh Shapiro made a stop in the city of Lancaster on Wednesday to tout small businesses and their economic development in the Commonwealth and also talked a little college sports along the way.

He visited a number of small downtown businesses to highlight his Administration’s efforts to cut taxes, deliver real economic relief for Pennsylvania families, and invest in the Main Streets and small businesses that are driving economic growth in communities all across our Commonwealth.

“With the holiday season in full swing, my Administration is focused on the work we’ve done to deliver real relief to Pennsylvanians by cutting taxes and helping families keep more of their hard-earned money,” said Shapiro. “We’re committed to uplifting small businesses and revitalizing the Main Streets – like this one here in downtown Lancaster and others all across the Commonwealth – that serve as the foundation of our communities. These investments are not just about today — they’re about building stronger, more vibrant economy where families and businesses can succeed for years to come.”

“Our small business and merchant community is the lifeblood of Lancaster and a major reason as to why this city is so special,” said Lancaster City Alliance president Marshall Snively. “This city has over 300 places to eat, shop, and enjoy — which is more than most shopping malls. Our merchants work hard on special promotions with us including restaurant weeks, art walks and tons of holiday activities to showcase what this great city has to offer. We commend Governor Shapiro and his commitment to and support of small business. Programs such as Main Street Matters are key to the continued growth of Pennsylvania cities like Lancaster.”

Shapiro was asked about future investments not only to small cities like Lancaster but also to more rural towns around Pennsylvania.

“I’ll have more to say about my next budget in the next several weeks here, but we will continue to invest in our main streets,” he said. “We think it is critically important. And you brought up the juxtaposition between Huntingdon County, which has main streets that need some real investment, and a Lancaster, which has main streets that need investments, but two different kinds of investments. One, we’re trying to really get going and build up, and the other, we want to just make sure we support them and many ways, kind of stay out of their way and let them continue to do the great work they’re doing.

“And we know that that investment is critical for both kinds of main streets, and you can rest assured, my administration will continue to invest in them. We know that downtown’s main streets are part of our hospitality and tourism industry, which is just exploding in our Commonwealth.”

The governor was also asked about his thoughts on the status of college football with Penn State qualifying for the first College Football Playoff.

“I’ve had the opportunity to speak with coaches and university leaders, outside forces involved in NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) to try and get a better sense from them as to what’s working and what’s not,” he stated. “It’s a little bit of the Wild, Wild West right now when it comes to college athletics, and while I want to make sure that student-athletes are able to benefit from their hard work, we want to make sure that it’s done in a way that preserves competition.

“Take a look at our Commonwealth right now and the sports teams that we have here, when you look at some of the big sports – football, basketball, although volleyball, particularly at Pitt, is really on fire right now – I worry sometimes that the dollars that go into NIL are going to one particular sport at the expense of others.

“With the new changes at the college level, where colleges should be able to use some of the dollars that they generate in their normal course of business for NIL, we have to think about making sure that it’s spread out to lift up all sports, not just one particular sport. You’ve got a great powerhouse in Penn State football or Penn State wrestling, Villanova basketball, which has been a powerhouse. That’s great. We want to preserve that, protect that. We also want to make sure other schools have the opportunity to compete when it comes to the added challenge of the transfer portal.

“What worries me is that these colleges and universities aren’t homes for student-athletes for several years, but rather for a season, and then they move somewhere else,” he continued. “Now, by the way, I had a kid who transferred colleges not to play sports, but because he was unhappy where he was. I don’t want to take that freedom away from student-athletes, but I think we’ve got to really examine whether the transfer portal, combined with the NIL and really unlimited resources that goes into it, is that really the best answer?

“I think at the federal level, they’ve talked about it, haven’t really done anything. There’s a group of us who are examining the issue here at the State to see what can be done to protect student-athletes and their interests, but also create a level of competitiveness in all the different sports across the board. So we’re not getting big-time winners and then big-time losers as a result of this system.”

Shapiro closed by stating that he did not want to make a prediction, “because I don’t want to jinx anything, but said he liked Penn State’s matchup against Southern Methodist University, as well as a possible quarterfinal matchup with Boise State.

“I’m a big fan of Coach (James) Franklin. It’s going to be cold and white and noisy. It’s a white out game at Penn State on Saturday, and I think that home field advantage in the playoffs can be really special. It’s more than any of you wanted to know. I could talk about it for hours.”