The Case for Free: Why Comp Tickets Can Work in DC
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 8, 2010 10:26 AM EDT
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PrintIn case you haven't heard, the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship has free admission all weekend. You probably haven't heard a lot about the tournament or the free seat (standing place?) to the best 50+ golfers in the world. With a limited budget compared to the PGA Tour event typically in the area - the AT&T National - it's hard to get the word out to a lot of the public.
This championship was moved from Balitmore Country Club to here for a one-year showcase of the new digs. The PGA Tour brass wanted fans to have no excuse to miss the event. The early results yesterday were discouraging as a very light crowd at TPC Potomac, the rechristened TPC Avenel which has undergone a sizable and costly renovation.
The Baltimore Sun's Don Markus calls the experiment a failure after the first day of play. Markus is wrong to judge a concept like this DOA, especially since it has worked well in other towns where the Champions Tour has tried this.
A few years ago, tournament organizers for the Twin Cities' 3M Championship decided to take a gamble on eating gate to let anyone in for free. Their hope was to make the money back and then some on refreshments and other sales.
As Hale Irwin was explaining this to Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Joel Hanrahan in our pro-am group on Wednesday, he surprised the ballplayer by ending the anecdote with, "And now they're making more money than they ever did. It's so expensive these days for families to do anything together that it really caught on with fans."
Irwin is right. Creating a value play as a ploy for people to watch golf is a good idea. A golfing man or woman can drag their entire family to the tournament for nothing. It makes the case easier to shove the family in a car and teach them a little something about golf.
In this town, though, it can be tough to make free stick. The DC metro area boasts three of the wealthiest counties in the country. Free? Meh. But, there is a strong middle-class presence in the area. And there is a very healthy golf community here. The combination will work over the weekend, but not to the scale of the National. That tournament has Tiger Woods. This one has Better Than Ezra - who I loved in the 90s - on Saturday night.
It's different, but it can work.
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Your right Ryan...it is free enterprize at work...All
ya gotta do, is make sure Wendy gets the clothing concession stand….stand back and watch the loot roll in…Easy could run the beer tent….only thing is ya probably would have to watch to see he doesn’t sample too much of the stuff…..hehehe…..STUB
Markus is just another media leming who thinks it is his job to be as negative as possible.
Face it – if there is any place in this country where free tickets should be a huge success, it’s the DC area where welfare is king.
I had this discussion with the people who market the Nationwide stop in Athens, GA. For some reason, people like the idea of gettting a “deal” on tickets (charge them $5 for a ticket marked $10 – for example) more than the idea of going to something for free. (if it’s free, how good can it be ?)
People are strange.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Don't underestimate the fact it is a Baltimore writer dissing a Washington DC event
especially one that was played in Baltimore previously.
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