The Value of a PGA Championship
Tulsa will see an economic impact of over $140 million.
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Hey Golfers —
Southern Hills Country Club is no stranger to major championships — they hosted the PGA Championship for a record fifth time last week and have hosted eight total majors, with the U.S. Open being the first in 1958.
U.S. Open — 3 times
PGA Championship — 5 times
Hosting eight majors is incredibly impressive. To put that in perspective — Texas has hosted a total of six major events. And hasn’t hosted a major event since 1969.
The population of Oklahoma is just under 4 million people, while Tulsa’s metro population is about 1 million. Texas has a population of 28 million people.
Hosting a major event in Oklahoma is a big deal, and Southern Hills is a money printing machine for the local economy. The Tulsa Regional Chamber stated that this would be the largest PGA Championship in tickets and sponsorship revenue.
The 2022 PGA Championship will bring $143 million to Northeast Oklahoma.
The PGA expected 45,000 - 50,000 fans to attend per day. Those fans will spend $79 million on various items in the Tulsa area.
Lodging
Transporation
Food and Beverage
Retail and Recreation
Over 62,000 hotel rooms were booked for the event — this doesn’t include short-term rentals like Airbnb.
Here is a high-level breakdown.
$79 million in visitor spending
$4.6 million in tax revenues
1,100 jobs
One of the crazier stats? The PGA said they sell 20 hats per minute in the merchandise tent and online.
Economic impact studies are widely debated among economists, so we won’t know the final impact for several months. But, we do have a baseline from the 2007 PGA Championship when Southern Hills hosted.
That number? $70 million.
Adjusted for inflation — it is $98 million today. The $143 million estimate is undoubtedly reasonable.
Going back nearly a decade, only a couple of local economies reported the final local economic impact of the PGA Championship. For example, the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill reported $102.1 million.
Most local economies were expected to receive around $100 million for the PGA Championship. While Charleston, South Carolina, estimated nearly $200 million before the pandemic cut into attendance numbers.
Why is hosting the PGA Championship important for Tulsa?
Size.
Tulsa doesn’t have the same benefit as larger cities in receiving those dollars from high-level professional sports teams. Tulsa has several minor league sports teams.
Tulsa Oilers — ECHL
Tulsa Drillers — AA Baseball
FC Tulsa — USL Championship
Tulsa Athletic — National Premier Soccer League
FC Tulsa Spirit — Women’s Premier Soccer League
Taking it a step further.
According to a third-party study from Brookings — the Denver Broncos bring in $120 million per year to Denver’s local economy.
The Oklahoma Thunder, Oklahoma’s only major four professional sports team, is estimated to add $61.5 million per year to the local economy.
Southern Hills hosting the PGA Championship provides a similar economic impact as having a major four professional sports team for one or two years, depending on the sport. And for a city with a population of 400,000 and 1 million in the metro — it is significant.
Southern Hills Country Club is Tulsa’s major sports team.
Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!
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Jake and I volunteered for this tournament. It was a chance of a lifetime for me.We had a great time. Your newsletter made it all the more interesting. Thank you