This week's Bank of America Championship was
expected to pump millions of dollars into the local
economy, but the golf event's forecast for a windfall
was made before the heavy rainfall of recent days.
Officials yesterday said
the wet weather could dampen the economic benefits of
the PGA Champions Tour at soggy Nashawtuc Country Club
in Concord.
Torrential rains forced
the cancellation of events Wednesday and yesterday. The
tournament's opening round starts today but the rain
could push the golfers' tee times later in the morning
and deter fair-weather fans.
"We don't know yet to
which extent the inclement weather will have on this
year's event," said Joseph Goode, a spokesman for Bank
of America in Boston. "The bank, tour officials and the
staff at Nashawtuc are all working very hard to make
sure the course conditions are suitable for the players
and the facilities are suitable for fans.
"Obviously the weather is
putting a damper on our event, but we are optimistic,"
he said. "The weather does turn some fans away, but we
will do everything possible to put on a great event."
A recent study by Bentley
College in Waltham found the Bank of America
Championship has an estimated average annual economic
impact in Massachusetts of $10.5 million.
A separate study by Daniel
Webster College in Nashua, N.H., says the golf event
generates $3 million locally -- defined as Acton,
Concord, Maynard and Sudbury -- plus another $14 million
statewide and $10 million nationally.
The Westin Hotel in
Waltham gets a regular boost in business from the
tournament, for which it has served as the official
"host hotel" for players, organizers and fans for the
past eight years.
"It fills up the hotel,"
said Carol Pogue, director of group sales for the
346-room hotel on Third Avenue. "June is a popular month
(for hotel guests), but this helps."
Pogue said the tournament
"drives in lots of business" for the Waltham area in
general "because we're the closest suburb with hotels in
the area." The city is about 20-minutes away from the
Concord golf course.
The tournament started in
1981 and has been played at Nashawtuc since 1984. It is
considered among the top five spectator sporting events
in New England, drawing more than 70,000 people per
year.
Nashawtuc Charities Inc.,
the tournament's owner, has donated more than $4 million
over the past 25 years to local organizations. The
tournament is operated by Hayson Sports Group of
Concord.
