The “Big Boy Reunion” of two 1941 locomotives that drew tens of thousands of people to Scranton in June also brought a big boost in parking revenue downtown.
Managers of the city’s on-street parking spaces and garages downtown estimated the Big Boy event at Steamtown National Historic Site from June 17-30 produced about $67,000 in unanticipated parking revenue.
The FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament Fan Zone at the Lackawanna County Courthouse Square downtown on July 4-5 and July 18-19 also brought more parkers downtown.
The parking system also had budgeted for an expected loss of a large group of county employee parkers leaving city-affiliated garages, but that did not occur, said Jacob Ciulla, an assistant manager of the Grow America organization that operates the city’s parking system.
Those two factors — the Big Boy/FIFA influx and a large group of monthly parkers staying — contributed to parking revenue running about $120,466 “better than budgeted” from January through July, Ciulla said during a Scranton Parking Authority meeting Tuesday.
“The Big Boy event drew in quite more than we anticipated, and we didn’t know about either one of those events (Big Boy Reunion and FIFA Fan Zones) when we did the budget,” Ciulla said. On the other factor, he said, “We didn’t lose as many county workers as we thought in the system.”
Ciulla gave a similar parking-system update to Scranton City Council on Sept 8, when he told council, “Revenue has been very good this year,” according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video of that meeting. “June was a great month for us and I think that was due to the Big Boy event. June alone was better than budgeted by $67,000.”
Shortly before the Big Boy Reunion, the city alerted the public that traffic in and around Scranton would increase during the two weeks of the event and encouraged tourists to plan ahead for traffic delays and parking. With Steamtown National Historic Site having no visitor parking during the event, the city publicized that paid parking was available throughout downtown Scranton, including metered street parking and parking at city-affiliated garages — Casey, Connell, Medallion, Linden, Electric City and Marketplace at Steamtown.
Bond ‘haircut’ helped bottom line
Parking system finances trending in the black followed a debt restructuring in summer 2025 that also soon led to the parking system bringing in more revenue, according to an early 2026 report. In July 2025, the city passed legislation to help the outside operators restructure their debt and avoid a default that would have harmed the city’s financial stability and creditworthiness.
A key plank of refinancing included an expansion of weekday street parking hours from 5 to 7 p.m., for two extra hours of having to pay for street parking at payment kiosks. The 8 a.m. start time to pay for street parking remained the same. Parking-rate increases previously approved several years earlier also took effect in 2026. Street-metered rates paid at kiosks increased from $2 per hour to $2.25; the parking garage rate rose from $1 per hour for up to 10 hours to $1.25 per hour.
By allowing the refinancing, bondholders took “a $15 million haircut,” meaning a reduction by $15 million in the amount of the returns they initially expected to receive over the life of the bonds over 45 years, or from 2016 to 2061. The refinancing also extended the term of the management arrangement between the city and Grow America another nine years, to 2070.
So, the parking system was poised to generate more revenue in 2026 even without a large influx of motorists from special events. And then Big Boy rolled into town — or, specifically, into Steamtown, drawing an estimated 110,000 visitors over the two weeks. Those two weeks alone far surpassed the park’s entire 2025 attendance of about 60,000.
Railfans look out from the The Marketplace at Steamtown parking garage to watch the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive depart the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Jeremy Komasz, superintendent of Steamtown National Historic Site, speaks during a press conference to discuss the arrival of the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive at. Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Friday, June 12, 2016.(SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Union Pacific’s Big Boy over Keyser Avenue in Scranton on June 13, 2026. Courtesty of Joe Ruddy, Scranton
Big Boy crosses the Nicholson Viaduct on Saturday, June 13, 2026. Courtesy of John Kear, Scranton.
A sign on Monday, June 15, 2026 at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event featuring a visit by Union Pacific Big Boy 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, with Steamtown’s nonoperational Big Boy 4012. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Crowds of people on Monday, June 15, 2026 at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event featuring a visit by Union Pacific Big Boy 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, at left, parked next to the nonoperational Big Boy 4012, in background, at right. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Aidan Craven, 7, of Dalton, takes a selfie with Union Pacific Big Boy 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, and which is parked next to Big Boy 4012 in background at right, on Monday, June 15, 2026 at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Union Pacific Big Boy 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, at left, is parked next to the nonoperational Big Boy 4012, at right, on Monday, June 15, 2026 at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Crowds of people in long lines Monday, June 15, 2026 near Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
People gather near the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton on June 15. The locomotive is scheduled to stop at the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Station in Muhlenberg Township on July 2. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Crowds of people gather to view the the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive, currently parked at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Monday, June 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Union Pacific engineer Ed Dickens poses for a photograph with the Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Friday, June 19, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Union Pacific train engineer Ed Dickens in the cab of Big Boy 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, waves to visitors at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton on Friday, June 19, 2026. The 4014 is on a cross-country America250 tour and stopped in Scranton for a two-week stay for the Big Boy Reunion with Steamtown’s non-operational Big Boy 4012. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Railfans look out from the The Marketplace at Steamtown parking garage to watch the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive depart the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Workers stand on the platform as the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive prepares to depart the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Jeremy Komasz, superintendent of Steamtown National Historic Site, speaks during a press conference to discuss the arrival of the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive at. Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Friday, June 12, 2016.(SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)