Good thing he’s the boss, because Jeff Riggs has been doing a lot of moonlighting lately.
A local mortgage banker and real estate investor, Riggs is also chairman of this week’s U.S. Women’s Open. A volunteer position, Riggs has dedicated countless hours helping prepare Cherry Hills Country Club to host the golf event.
“I have worked on this every day for the better part of four years – sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes all day,” said Riggs, who said he took a 12-minute break from the club Sunday for a Father’s Day dinner. “Planning for this event has really been like running a business.”
Cherry Hills’ members have welcomed the championship with open arms. Roughly half of the 111 corporate patrons – a U.S. Women’s Open record – have a personal connection to the club and its 500 members, said Riggs, an avid golfer and a Cherry Hills member for 20 years.
“Our membership has really embraced this championship on all levels,” he said. “We exceeded our expectations.”
Last year’s U.S. Women’s Open had roughly 45 corporate patrons and the 2003 championship had 40 corporate patrons.
Because of higher television viewership numbers, the men’s golf tours have several companies that sponsor every tournament, but the women’s tour starts with a blank slate in each new tournament location, said Max Novena, director of sales and marketing for the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open.
“We were very fortunate that at Cherry Hills there are a lot of members that have a very significant place in the local business community, and they certainly helped us create those relationships,” he said.
Along with ticket and merchandise sales, the sponsorship money subsidizes the event’s production, marketing and advertising costs, Novena said.
Kent Stevinson, president of Golden-based Stevinson Automotive Group and a Cherry Hills member, helped secure a sponsorship deal for this week’s championship with Lexus, its first patronage of a major women’s golf event. The car company lent 200 vehicles for players and staff members to use this week.
“This really sets the bar high now for other locations of what the ladies can draw,” Stevinson said. “They attract a very important demographic.”
Other local patrons include Storage Technology Corp., First Data Corp., Coors Brewing Co., Qwest, HealthONE and Great-West Healthcare.
A sales staff from Birmingham, Ala.-based Bruno Event Team has been at the tournament site for more than two years selling the corporate hospitality packages, which ranged in price from $11,000 to $400,000.
Riggs is president of Q10/Essex Financial Group, a Greenwood Village commercial mortgage banking firm. He is also a founding partner of Baron Properties Services, a local real estate investment company that owns and manages 19 apartment complexes in Colorado and Texas, and a principal at Mountain West Management, which owns 12 industrial properties in the Denver area.
Hosting the women’s championship is not a moneymaker for the club, Riggs insisted.
“This is not about profit,” he said. “We’re hosting it to continue the tradition established by our founding fathers generations ago of bringing major sporting events to Denver.”
Riggs said the event will have a significant economic impact on metro Denver from golf fans and the national and international media spending money on hotel rooms and rental cars and at local restaurants and shops.
More than 120,000 people are expected to visit Cherry Hills during the event. The tournament runs Thursday through Sunday after a few days of practice open to the public. Tickets to the event have been purchased from all 50 states.
While it has been time-consuming, Riggs said the chairmanship has been worth it.
“I like the opportunity to meet new people,” he said, adding that it has taught him a few lessons about running his companies.
“It taught me that I can rely on my partners and my employees,” Riggs said with a smile. “I guess I can play more golf now.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
Corporate ticket and sponsorship packages
A sampling of corporate-ticket packages and the benefits that come with them at the 60th U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills Country Club:
Torreys Peak | $75,000
Exclusive use of the climate-controlled Red Rocks Village luxury pavilion, adjacent to 18th hole
Private use of the deluxe skybox overlooking the 16th green
Foursome golf round in the Championship Preview
Foursome round in the Chairman’s Invitational
A four-color, full-page ad in the official program
100 week-long tickets to all events
Corporate identification on your company pavilion
Parking, TV viewing and custom bar privileges
Cottonwood | $7,500
Six tickets with access to the Cherry Hills Country Club ballroom, Thursday through Sunday
50 one-day tickets
Three VIP parking passes
12 official championship programs
Corporate identification on the patron board at the hospitality entrance
Dogwood | $575
25 one-day tickets
Five championship programs
Two VIP parking passes
Source: U.S. Golf Association
