A Connellsville entrepreneur who has built a business empire of 19 companies, ranging from construction and capital to catering and concessions, has been a core player in sustaining professional soccer in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds owner Terrance C. “Tuffy” Shallenberger Jr., 58, of Connellsville in Fayette County, became involved in soccer and later the Riverhounds about 14 years ago through his oldest son, Skylar, now 23.
Skylar Shallenberger was playing recreational soccer in the Connellsville area in 2011 and wanted to improve his game by training at the Riverhounds Academy, which used a sports complex in Green Tree, about 55 miles from Connellsville.
“At that point, I did not even know what the Riverhounds was. The training that they were doing was very small, with only a couple of teams,” Shallenberger said.
Shallenberger’s construction company, founded in 1991, was building well pads and roads in 2011 for drillers in the burgeoning natural gas industry in Southwestern Pennsylvania. He was intrigued by the soccer business.
“I just thought it was a really neat (business) model. I had seen it was a really growing sport,” Shallenberger said.
The Riverhounds, meanwhile, had started building what turned out to be a $10 million stadium that opened in 2013. It soon was mired in a cash-flow problem as cost overruns strained a business suffering from stagnant revenues, according to documents filed in the Riverhounds’ bankruptcy case 12 years ago.
Shallenberger’s investment company pumped $570,000 into the Riverhounds’ coffers to help pay for daily operating expenses through 2013 and leading up to the 2014 season. This was reported in documents the Riverhounds Acquisition Group filed after seeking protection from creditors in March 2014, while owing more than $10 million.
Shallenberger parlayed his financial support into majority control of the business with a 51% stake in the club and stadium. He offered up to $1 million in financing as the debtor-in-possession of the business, gaining total ownership in return. He also offered up to $1.25 million in financial support to the Riverhounds when the club emerged from bankruptcy in 2016.
The Riverhounds compete in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American professional soccer pyramid. Founded in 1998, the club is currently at its most successful point in franchise history, entering the 2026 season as reigning league champions after winning the USL title in November.
“I’ve been blessed. I realize this was put in my lap for a reason. It was bankrupt, and I pulled it out of bankruptcy,” Shallenberger said.
At the same time, Shallenberger boosted recreational soccer in the Connellsville area by building the Shallenberger SportsPlex in 2013 in Bullskin Township. The sprawling complex features an indoor soccer facility and outdoor fields a few miles outside of Connellsville.
Now, he wants to expand the stadium to grow soccer in the region.
“We’ll just keep fighting. We’ll get it done,” Shallenberger said. “It ain’t gonna be an easy fight. Nothing has been to this point.”