Shriners Golf Tourney Director: Attendance of 75,000 Is Possible in Las Vegas This Week
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open got underway the week of the Vegas Golden Knights season-opener, so PGA event organizers faced the challenge of luring local Las Vegas golf fans to TPC Summerlin amid Golden Knights hoopla this week.
Tourney director Patrick Lindsey embraces the VGK presence, and Las Vegas’ growing sports industry. Shriners golfers Adam Scott, Charley Hoffman and Ryan Palmer attended the Knights’ home-opener Wednesday night and the tourney uses the VGK game as a recruitment tool to draw golfers to the Summerlin golf course, Lindsey said.
Big-name golfer Brooks Koepka, a friend of San Jose Sharks players, said he would not attend the VGK-Sharks season-opener. “I’ve got to work this week,” Koepka said.
The Shriners event is a month earlier this year than in 2018, so Lindsey was fearing hot weather might turn off fans and hurt attendance. But he hit the weather jackpot this week with temperatures in the 82-84 degree range.
With headliner names like Phil Mickelson and Koepka, the Shriners PGA event could draw attendance of 75,000 — a 20,000 jump over last year’s 55,000, Lindsey said. And the attendance of 55,000 in 2018 was double the 25,000 in 2014 and a jump above the 35,000 of 2015.
The Shriners tourney loses money for the PGA, Lindsey said. But the non-profit Shriners Hospitals for Children, based in Tampa, Fla., uses the PGA event as a marketing and promotional campaign tool to drum up contributions and hype their cause. Here’s a look at the nonprofit’s tax form from 2017.
It’s unusual for a tax-exempt organization to be the title sponsor of a major sports event, but it’s actually part of the Shriners’ history. The Shriners are famous for their college football all-star game sponsorship and also sponsored college baseball.
The Shriners’ title sponsorship for the Las Vegas event is through 2020. In 2017, LVSportsBiz.com reported the Shriners spend in the $12 million-$15 million range on the golf tourney in Summerlin.
The PGA and the Shriners have begun conversations about the non-profit renewing the title sponsorship deal, Lindsey said. He noted attendance is growing and hopes the Shriners continue coming to Las Vegas.
“Why give up on it now?” Lindsey said.
Ticket sales are up 45 percent over last year, with the least expensive ticket costing $29 for daily general admission, he said.
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