Two additional dining options, including food trucks, 13 new elevated spectator areas and enhanced hospitality facilities are some of the changes this year at The Players Championship.
Matt Rapp, executive director of the tournament, said the “Taste of Jax” that debuted at the tournament two years ago has grown in popularity, so it was time to expand the offering. In 2012, fans spent $42,000 in the food area. Last year, the total was $189,000, Rapp said Monday at the Rotary Club of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Beach-based TacoLu will be serving some of its signature menu items at “Tacos on 12” and a small fleet of food trucks will be set up at “Trucks on 10” near the 10th green.
“We have created a triangle on the back nine,” said Rapp.
He said when Tiger Woods defends his title against the best field in golf playing for a $10 million purse, the on-site experience will be the best in the sport.
“It’s the ultimate in spectator golf,” he said.
Hospitality amenities also have been enhanced, including an expanded design for the Benefactor area, adjacent to the 17th tee. Black Sheep and Mellow Mushroom will be catering in the new Michelob Ultra Blue Room VIP Lounge,
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Rapp said.
The tournament is May 6-11 at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Feedback from spectators indicated many fans stay home on Sunday to take advantage of the NBC and international network coverage rather than watching the final round in person.
To combat that, the tournament has redesigned The Turn, with a view of the 18th green. Two video walls will provide live television coverage from the entire course. Perdue Office Interiors is providing soft-seating areas.
Rapp described the amenity as a “golfer’s paradise.”
Attendance last year was 45,000 each day on Saturday and Sunday. Rapp predicts more than 50,000 spectators will line the fairways each day this year, but the international exposure gained by the event is huge in comparison.
The television broadcasts reach more than 800 million households in 224 countries and territories with 37.5 hours of coverage on NBC and The Golf Channel, plus international sports and news media outlets.
“The Players Championship reaches an audience all around the world and it reaches people who invest and relocate companies and have second homes,” said Rapp.
The anticipated increase in attendance is due to two factors: more promotion for the event in markets outside North Florida to attract golf tourists and enhancements to the tournament’s corporate and spectator experiences..
Maximizing the economic development component of the tournament could position the event, and therefore Jacksonville, on the same plane as Super Bowl, the Tour de France and the Kentucky Derby.
“Those are events that you don’t have to explain what they are. We have that ability and opportunity,” said Rapp.
He supports increasing the marketing effort to include advertising campaigns beginning each January in northern markets that have direct airline flights to Jacksonville.
Rapp said Visit Jacksonville, the marketing arm of the city Tourist Development Council, is contributing $50,000 to the effort and the state-funded Visit Florida tourism promotion agency has committed more than $63,000 for advertising.
Rapp said the PGA Tour invests $100,000 each year to promote The Players Championship, but a greater investment will be needed to properly position the tournament.
“Let’s put some real money behind this event,” he said.
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