Visitors to Tall Ships Erie walk along Dobbins Landing and the Bicentennial Tower near Presque Isle Bay in Erie on Aug. 21, 2025.
GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Thousands of visitors to Tall Ships Erie 2025 found their way to Erie’s bayfront aboard a free shuttle operated by the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Jeremy Peterson, CEO of EMTA, said he was proud to provide a service that showcased his organization and helped boost a community event.
He had hoped to be paid, however, to help offset personnel, fuel and equipment costs.
Peterson said in a Sept. 17 interview that he didn’t recall what the bill would have been for providing transportation between Aug. 21 and 25. Whatever it was, the Flagship Niagara League, the festival’s organizer, never paid it.
That unpaid bill isn’t the first that’s come to light, prompting a growing concern about the future of Tall Ships Erie.
EMTA joins a growing list of local businesses and organizations that say they weren’t fully compensated for the part they played in the most recent festival, which brought nine historic ships and two larger-than-life rubber ducks to Erie.
The Erie Times-News and GoErie.com previously reported on a civil lawsuit filed by Creative Imprint Systems that seeks $17,000 from the Flagship Niagara League for imprinted T-shirts, tote bags and other items.
And on Sept. 30, 2025, District Judge Suzanne C. Mack entered a civil judgment against Flagship Niagara League, ordering the organization to pay $12,234.75 to Strategy Solutions Inc., an Erie-based business consulting firm.
Other creditors have emerged.
Greg Straub, co-owner of Erie Apparel, said that his company also provided T-shirts and other items for the festival.
Some payments have been made on the original invoice of $10,000.
“They still owe us $8,000 or so,” Straub said. “We are not holding our breath. It seems like they are in some difficulty.”
Straub, whose company hasn’t taken any legal action, said this isn’t the outcome he had expected.
“Some of it is the cost of doing business. Most companies are good with 30-day terms. Then you find out the hard way,” he said.
Another local company did seek a remedy through the courts.
In July, District Judge Laurie Mikielski entered a judgment for $3,135.75 on behalf of Lake Erie Variety against the Flagship Niagara League.
Lake Erie Variety posted on social media: “We did thousands of dollars of work for them for their Captain’s Dinner for Tall Ships 2025 and haven’t seen a dime either.”
Peterson said he wants to see the festival succeed.
“We want to make sure we are part of the community,” he said. “We don’t want to give a black eye to anyone who is trying to put on a festival or event downtown.
“Whether we get paid or not, we feel it’s our job to get people transported. Even when we don’t get paid, we try to do a good job.”
Erie Events says Flagship League owes nearly $32,000
Gus Pine, executive director of Erie Events, said his organization did receive some money from the Flagship Niagara League, which used the Bayfront Convention Center as a base of operations for the most recent festival.
A balance of nearly $32,000 remains, however. “We have spoken with them. They are aware of the balance,” he said.
Erie Events, which owns the convention center as well as the Warner Theatre, Erie Zoo, UPMC Park and Erie Insurance Arena, hasn’t taken any legal action, Pine said.
“We are looking at all options,” Pine said. “I have had a conversation with them about the bill. I get the sense that they are not in a position to pay. I get the sense that this is going to be a write-off for us.”
Why not file a lawsuit?
“That is probably not the best path for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is my broader concern about the future of Tall Ships,” Pine said.
The changing role and finances of the Flagship Niagara League
Since 2010, Tall Ships Erie festivals, held every three years, have been hosted by the Flagship Niagara League, an organization that makes sail training its primary mission. The group, which sails the Lettie G. Howard, operated the U.S. Brig Niagara, owned by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, for 14 years ending on Jan. 1, 2024.
Concerns about the organization’s finances are reinforced by the league’s most recently available 990 form that nonprofits use to report financial data to the IRS.
That form, which reflects 2024 information, shows that the organization had revenues of $416,375 and expenses of $786,356, leaving a net income of negative $369,981.
Just a year earlier, in 2023, the group had reported revenue of $1.56 million, although net income was negative $38,629.
William Sabatini, the longtime CEO and fleet captain of the Flagship Niagara League, did not respond to a message from the Erie Times-News.
Mark Jeanneret, CEO of VisitErie, Erie County’s tourism promotion agency, said he met with the Flagship League prior to the most recent festival.
“We met with them to work on a state grant application,” he said.
The application was never completed.
“We felt good about the opportunity, but it never made it that far,” he said.
Future festivals could have a different sponsor
If there is a future for Tall Ships Erie, Pine wonders if there might need to be a different structure.
“Is this a job for a broader community-based organization? This is what you do when you host things like the Super Bowl and drafts,” he said. “You bring in the destination market organization and the ticket partners,” and other organizations with specific areas of expertise.
“Frankly, I feel for them,” Pine said. “It’s an extremely heavy lift… to host a massive event that happens once every three years.”
Pine said he would like to talk with the Flagship Niagara League about the future of the festival, which faced additional challenges in 2025 due to ongoing construction on the Bayfront Parkway.
“The bill is the bill, but the broader issue is what does this mean for Tall Ships in the future? It ties to our history and brings people in from all over. It would be a tough loss.”
Jeanneret, who called Tall Ships one of the most important dates on Erie’s tourism calendar, said his organization isn’t in a position to take on the event. He pledged, however, to help however possible.
Cal Pifer, CEO of the Hagen History Center and the former vice chairman of Tall Ships America, said Tall Ships Erie is important to the community, and he is hopeful that the festival will continue even if the Flagship Niagara League isn’t the sponsor.
Tradition would suggest another festival would be held in 2028.
“Really, the lead sponsoring agency could be anybody in the community,” Pifer said. “It really varies throughout the country who serves as the lead. Sometimes it’s a municipality. Sometimes it’s an economic development agency. Sometimes it’s a (nonprofit). There is no shortage of options of who that could be in Erie.”
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Creditors say Tall Ships Erie organizers left them with unpaid bills
Reporting by Jim Martin, Erie Times-News / Erie Times-News
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Erie’s own Lettie G. Howard is shown during the Tall Ships Erie Festival on Aug. 21, 2025. Nicholas Sorensen USA TODAY Network, Reuters
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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 4:57 AM.