Thirty-four days before the first shot lands in the fairway, the city began its annual countdown to The Players Championship on Wednesday near the steps of City Hall.
Mayor Alvin Brown, joined by tournament officials and tourism development executives, spray-painted the first of many “Gold Man” images that will be displayed on sidewalks Downtown to promote the May 6-11 golf tournament at The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
“The Players Championship gets bigger and better every year, bringing 175,000 fans last year. The more we support The Players, the more The Players will be able to support the community,” said Brown. “It continues to position us as a destination for sports.”
Tournament Executive Director Matt Rapp described the event as “a showcase for Jacksonville to the world,” citing more than 850 million viewers on international television.
He said last year’s The Players generated $151 million in local economic impact and more than 50 percent of attendees lived outside Northeast Florida.
Visit Jacksonville CEO Paul Astleford said The Players Championship is a key element in the local sports tourism portfolio that brings a significant percentage of the 4 million visitors to North Florida each year who have an economic impact of $2 billion while supporting 22,000 jobs.
Combining the tournament with the Jaguars, Sharks, Suns and Armada, plus the Gator Bowl and the Florida-Georgia college football game, makes Jacksonville a “sports lover’s dream,” he said.
According to data collected on the 2013 tournament by the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau:
• Tournament week was the busiest week of the year at Jacksonville International Airport.
• 38.7 million viewers watched coverage of The Players on NBC and/or The Golf Channel.
• The 892 media staff members from 12 countries and 192 news organizations filed more than 23,000 stories about the event with a promotional value of $63 million.
“The Players Championship makes Jacksonville a true international tourist destination,” said Astleford.
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