PARKER — The mayor calls it the biggest thing to come to town.
Local businesses hope it helps ease the pain of the recession.
And golf officials say it will be one of the most star-studded assemblies of senior golfers in Champions Tour history.
What has locals buzzing is the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club the week of May 24-30.
“This is big for the town of Parker,” Mayor David Casiano said. “This is a national event. It’ll be covered by ESPN and NBC. It is probably the biggest event that has ever happened here.”
Officials in Parker and in the Denver metro area are hoping to cash in to the tune of $18 million to $20 million. Hotels are booked, restaurants are planning special menus and town officials are preparing to gussy things up to showcase Parker in the national spotlight.
KieAnn Brownell, president of the Metro Denver Sports Commission, said the tournament will bring to the area between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors, a majority from outside the Denver area.
A total of 120,000 patrons are expected to attend the four-day tournament, as well as a host of tournament volunteers and television crews.
The field includes many golfers who up until recently played in the regular PGA Tour but are now at 50 years old and can compete in the Champions Tour.
Among those who have committed to play are Tom Watson and Fred Couples — both of whom flirted with the top of the leaderboard at the fabled Masters tournament this year. Other big names who are coming include Paul Azinger and Corey Pavin.
“It’s the strongest field ever in a senior major,” Brownell said. “I think it is going to be really well attended and have a significant financial impact.”
Parker officials expect at least an $180,000 injection into the town’s economy, with golf fans eating in local restaurants, sleeping in hotels and drinking in local bars.
They acknowledge that many of the fans, volunteers and even the golfers will be staying and spending their money outside of Parker proper.
Still, that hasn’t dampened their outlook that the tournament will be a big success for everyone involved. And they know it will pay off down the road.
“For Parker, it’s about the exposure of the town and the community,” said Becky Hogan, Parker’s economic-development director. “It’s about bringing people through and hoping they came back.”
That’s what local businesses are banking on. While folks typically leave town for the long Memorial Day weekend, the golf tournament will be bringing people in.
At the Tailgate Tavern & Grill on Mainstreet, owners plan golf specials and drink specials to lure people in.
“This will be a good bump for us,” said Steve Alter, whose wife owns the tavern. “A lot of people here who come to the bar are avid golfers.”
And for Colorado Golf Club, which is a private course outside of town limits and not yet 3 years old, the tournament will be its first major, but certainly not its last. Club managers have already scheduled the 2013 Solheim Cup, a three-day event that pits top female golfers from Europe against the best of the LPGA.
And they hope to host more major tournaments in coming years.
“That’s about as quick as you can go to the national stage,” said Tom Ferrell, spokesman for Colorado Golf Club. “With views of Pikes Peak and Longs Peak, it’s spectacular. It’s a really nice Colorado experience.”
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
