PGA tourneys boon for local economy, charities

PGA tournaments mean big money and the Ozarks is home to two heavy hitters.

The Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper and Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge tournaments helped the PGA set a record last year for charitable giving when its affiliated events generated $160 million for charities.

While only a fraction of that national figure comes home to the Ozarks, the charitable giving is just one piece of the economic impact pie.

Factor in hotel stays, tickets, restaurant spending, not to mention jobs generated to build the Branson course, and officials estimate an economic impact of around $16 million.
 
Susan Wade, public relations manager for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said typical convention visitors to the Queen City spend between $125 and $150 per day while in town.

While the CVB couldn’t estimate how many of PCCC’s 35,000 to 38,000 attendees stay in hotels, Wade said the direct spending estimate has a ripple effect. By comparison, the annual National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championship, held March 10-14 this year in Springfield, drew about 9,000 visitors spending an estimated $3.65 million.

Working in advance of this year’s PCCC, part of the PGA’s Web.com Tour, tournament director Jerald Andrews estimated an economic impact of at least $12.5 million per year based on economic multipliers related to gross revenue and number of visitors.

“When we visit with a restaurant and talk to them about the Price Cutter [Charity Championship], they know when it is and when it has been and look forward to it again,” Andrews said. “It has a significant impact on their businesses.”

Andrews, who is president and executive director of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which manages the tournament, said over 35,000 people attended the 2015 PCCC, which generated nearly $2.5 million in tickets sales and sponsorships. For 44 local charities, the event raised just over $900,000 last year and pulled in around $600,000 in trade.

Boom in Branson
The Ozarks will soon be on display to golf enthusiasts around the world via the 2016 Legends of Golf tournament. Broadcast nationally on the Golf Channel to 145 million households and around the globe in over 200 countries, Bass Pro Shops’ and tournament officials announced March 29 the price of daily passes would be slashed to attract more visitors this year when the event returns April 20-24 to Top of the Rock.

Last year, daily passes ranged from $50 during Friday’s play to $100 for Sunday’s final round. This year, the passes cost $25 each day, or $20 if paying with a MasterCard, a tournament sponsor.

“Johnny Morris wanted to add some value to families and their time in the outdoors, so it is just a great way to make it a little easier on the local family budget and anybody looking to buy tickets,” said tournament director Kirk Elmquist, who declined to disclose revenue or attendance projections this year. In its first two years, the tournament has attracted over 25,000 visitors – some 14,000 coming in the first year.

The inaugural year, Legends of Golf tournament in 2014 secured a local estimated economic impact of $3.46 million, based on common spending estimates provided to Springfield Business Journal by the Branson/Lakes Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. The estimate does not include the cost of course construction or the $2.75 million purse.

This year, two new courses are under construction at Big Cedar Lodge. The Gary Player Course is a new 12-hole course on schedule to be ready by the end of this year, and the 18-hole Coore and Crenshaw Course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is scheduled to open by the end of 2017, according to a news release.

Charitable ripple effect
Over its 26-year history, the PCCC has raised nearly $13 million for area nonprofits. The Arc of the Ozarks has been involved for the past 11 years. Development Director Danielle Wise said the nonprofit spent around $10,000 on 2015 sponsorships at PCCC before it received $49,527 in return in December. The proceeds help fund its summer camp program for the developmentally disabled, serving about 100 children.

An added nonmonetary benefit of sponsorship is promotion of each nonprofit’s message. Last year, Wise said Arc of the Ozarks promoted autism research by handing out Go Blue for Autism T-shirts and blue towels on championship day.

“We’re planning to do that again this year,” Wise said, adding last year she also served as chairwoman of the charity auction which raised over $60,000 for the charitable benefactors.

College of the Ozarks received $530,000 in awards from the inaugural Legends of Golf event, splitting roughly $1 million in gifts with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Point Lookout school, which received another $500,000 from last year’s event, was named the charitable beneficiary again this year.

Lisa Rau, director of publicity and public relations at Silver Dollar City, said the Branson amusement park supports both golf tournaments, but for different reasons.

The Silver Dollar City Foundation has supported PCCC for around two decades as a way to raise money for local charities such as Camp Barnabas. In recent years, it has paid $50,000 to sponsor the event, roughly equivalent to what the Silver Dollar City Foundation receives in return. But the focus, Rau said, is supporting a tournament that gives much to many.

The Legends of Golf sponsorship is seen as a way to showcase the area and, potentially, drive more visitors to Silver Dollar City. Rau declined to disclose what the foundation spends on its Legends of Golf sponsorship, but said it was a relatively minor amount in comparison to the annual Springfield tournament.  

“There is a huge community excitement that tournament is creating. We really think Branson is on the verge of another boom,” Rau said, pointing to renovations downtown and on the strip as well as new businesses such as Fritz’s Adventure coming to the area. “People come here for that tournament and they say, ‘There is really a lot going on here.’

“It’s a totally different objective.”