The U.S. Open at Chambers
Bay was
expected to bring a lot of green to the Northwest.
The weeklong event lived up to expectations, according to an economic impact analysis commissioned by the USGA.
The study, conducted by Northwest economists, estimated the golf championship gave a $134 million boost to the economies of Pierce, King, Kitsap and Thurston counties.
Local governments spent about $7.6 million on the event, with more than $4 million coming from Pierce County.
The tournament, which ran June 15-21, attracted about 110,000 unique attendees to the Pierce County golf course. More than half came from surrounding counties, while one-third traveled from other states.
“No other one week event in
the history of the Pacific Northwest has had a greater economic
impact,” Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy said in a new
release.
The direct economic benefit to Kitsap County was relatively small, but not insignificant.
The report estimated the county’s hotel/motel sector reaped a $349,000 increase in revenue in June (hoteliers were already having a good year). Many Kitsap golf courses reported an uptick in traffic around the time of the U.S. Open.
Tourism boosters hope a more greater benefit to the county will materialize in the future, as spectators exposed to the region through the U.S. Open return to visit.
