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A view of hole number 13 at Bellerive Country Club in West
County, host of the 2004 U.S. Senior Open. |
LEGENDS OF THE SWING
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PRO GOLF
RETURNS TO ST. LOUIS WITH 2003 U.S. SENIOR OPEN
By C.B. Adams
An anonymous duffer is credited with once saying, “In golf as in
life, it’s the follow through that makes the difference.”
Jerry Ritter, general chairman of the 2004 U.S. Senior Open to be
held at Bellerive Country Club in West County, couldn’t agree more.
That’s because major U.S. golf events are coveted by clubs around
the country.
“The competition to host an event like the Senior Open, which is
one of the top four major golf events in the United States, is worse
than the competition for a city to host the Olympics, because there
are a lot more clubs than cities,” Ritter says. “We worked hard,
and we are very fortunate to be able to host the Senior Open.”
The U.S. Senior Open will be held from Monday, July 26 to Monday,
Aug. 2, 2004. The first and second championship rounds, held July
29 and 30, will be televised by ESPN TV. The third and final round
will be televised by NBC TV.
Follow through has been one of the defining reasons why Bellerive—and
by extension the St. Louis region—was able to land this cherished
event, which is expected to pump approximately $30 million into
the local economy during the seven-day event. And, it will draw
the big-name, legendary heavy hitters of golf, such as Arnold Palmer,
Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and others. Irwin has been named the honorary
chairman of the 2004 event.
Bellerive was slated to host the World Golf Championships—American
Express Championships in 2001, but the event was cancelled in the
wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. However, the infrastructure
and planning experience were still in place—and the USGA initially
awarded the 2005 Senior Open to Bellerive. A little extra lobbying,
and the fact that the region will be hosting several other major
events in conjunction with the centennial celebration of the 1904
World’s Fair was enough to convince the USGA to let St. Louis host
the 2004 Senior Open.
| Jerry
Ritter, general chairman of the 2004 U.S. Senior Open
and Hale Irwin, honorary chairman. |
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“The Senior Open is both a national and an international event.
The focus won’t be so much on Bellerive Country Club, it will be
on St. Louis. And this is where we intend the focus to be,” Ritter
says.
HOSPITALITY
The effort to sell hospitality packages is fully underway. The championship
provides unique marketing and hospitality opportunities to build
and maintain key relationships with business partners, prospects,
vendors and employees. Companies can choose from a variety of packages,
starting with the $250,000 super sites, followed by ambassador suites,
envoy suites and $20,000 federation tables. Each package comes with
seats and/or tickets, parking passes, programs and other amenities.
As of June, 60 percent of the dollar value of the hospitality packages
has been sold. All super sites are sold-out, however, Ritter says
one more could be accommodated.
“We have set packages, but we will tailor a specific hospitality
package to anyone’s particular needs. We have the flexibility,”
Ritter says.
TICKETS
In addition to the hospitality packages, the second major push for
the event is ticket sales. Ritter estimates that between 27,000
and 28,000 tickets for the Senior Open will be sold for the event.
Of these, 17,000 to 19,000 will be sold to the general public for
$130 for the season, plus a $10 handling charge. Call 314/534-1111
or visit www.metrotix.com. The other tickets will go to hospitality
packages, volunteers and others.
“For about $20 a day, you can come out here and watch golf seven
straight days. All tickets are separable, so you can watch what
you want and give the remaining tickets to someone else,” he says.
VOLUNTEERS
An event such as the Senior Open does not run by itself. It requires
a full complement of vendors, contractors, caterers, management
and, of course, volunteers. Ritter says efforts are underway to
recruit and train the approximately 2,500 volunteers to help make
the event a success. Boeing has already agreed to provide 300 people
to help with security (non-weapon). Most volunteers will work four
hours a day for a few days during the event and still be able to
see part of the event.
C.B. Adams is a St. Louis-based writer and an adjunct communications
professor at UM-St. Louis and St. Charles Community College.
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