Shivas, I wasn't saying that if the Open weren't televised no one would go. I said Woodstock was NOT televised and had it been, it might not have been as large an audience as it was.
In regards to tickets, you have to keep perspective on it and it's pricing. I would bet there is a minimum of 30% of Open ticket sales that go to people who have zero intention of attending, but in fact are "fronting" to get tickets to re-sell to ticket brokers. I am also saying that many famalies who do go consider the cost to be a BIG expense and not just a cheap ticket.
The USGA are not the ones who "set the cost", therefore they can't just "lower the cost" of staging said event. The US Open is a premiere event that corporations want to entertain at, therefore, by their participation and fiscal contributions, the Open is today what we see. The MAJORITY of money spent at the Open is not from individual patrons, rather by the corporations.
You are right, no individual demamnded that it be the big production it is today, DEMAND demanded. And in a supply side economy, one, even the USGA would be fools to not capatalize on that opportunity. If they didn't, some one else would. It's all about the money.
I never said NO model would not work at SH, just the CURRENT model. If you honestly think the USGA would peel back the onion to an Open that is smaller, makes less money, you are dead wrong. It's not about being folksy, warm, cuddly & cute, it's about making the cash, period.
The TV revenue is not the first revenue stream, it is secondary, perhaps even a distant third to corporate hospitality being first, merchandising & F&B second.
Of course the Nebraska football gets supported well by Nebraskans. If you think they will take that same Nebraska football pride and transfer it to 1 US Open, no way. I am not saying they won't support it, I'm saying just not to the same degree as you claim. Yes they have RV's, but thats for them for the DAY. Not for them, 3 friends for FOUR NIGHTS. Again, no infrastructure (airports, hotels,restaurants, transportaion) = no Open.
" BTW, just a reminder, but Warren Buffett lives in Nebaska. You think there isn't a way for him and his local buddies that he's made filthy rich to make this happen, raise the business profile of the state and make a buck at the same time?"
You are assuming the USGA would invite him and his pals to be partners? Have we seen the USGA share profits with any other private entity on an Open?
" C'mon, these days you can do just about anything anywhere. This nonsense about infrastructure is a lot of hogwash in my book."
Apparently you have not ever produced an event requiring logistics, infrastructure etc. Trust me here, infrastructure is crucial, without it, no Open.
" It can be done. That's the American way. Just accepting the challenge is the hard part. I have every conficence that the execution would work out just fine."
I would be happy to agree with you, yes, we americans are great, no argument here. But reality and expectations are what will allow the USGA to make the profit that they are now 100% dependant on. If you think they would be willing to let that go so we can all be warm, cuddly & folksy with an Open at SH, you need to review your linear thinking on the basic business model of profit and loss.
I WISH an open like you describe could be held at SH, it's just completley unrealistic
SJ, you're not being consistent. You're saying that nobody would go to SH if it was on TV? Well then why the hell does anybody go to ANY Open? They're ALL on TV!
You're saying that people who buy the tickets to the Open think they're too expensive....yet they still buy them! So obviously, they ain't! I often buy a Coke for the trainride home. It's $1.25. I think that's a ripoff. Yet I buy it. That one makes no sense.
As for the costs involved in putting on the Open, maybe the USGA ought to just lower the damn costs! Nobody demanded that the Open be the gigantic production that it is. The USGA made it a gigantic production to maximize profits, given the markets they were bringing the Open to. What can be made can be un-made. There is certainly a business model that could create a profit for an Open at SH. All you're saying is that the current gigantic production model wouldn't work at SH. That does not necessarily mean that NO model would work there. Don't forget, the TV revenue wouldn't change one iota, and that's the big $ driver anyway. With TV as a constant, the key would be to find a walk-up model that would work.
Let me ask you a question. What's the third largest city in Nebraska 6 or 7 Saturday afternoons a year? It's the Nebraska football stadium. They get 100,000 people every fricking Saturday. They love and support their state and their school. And they take RV's to get there, no less. Let's say you can get 20,000 of them, out of civic pride, if nothing else, to show up. I'd imagine that people in Nebraska would LOVE to host an Open and would go nuts to support it. And you've got a whole bunch of people from other states in the Midwest that would go. Hell, there are people that would go just to see the sand hills (lower case) themselves, if not the tournament. BTW, just a reminder, but Warren Buffett lives in Nebaska. You think there isn't a way for him and his local buddies that he's made filthy rich to make this happen, raise the business profile of the state and make a buck at the same time? C'mon, these days you can do just about anything anywhere. This nonsense about infrastructure is a lot of hogwash in my book. It can be done. That's the American way. Just accepting the challenge is the hard part. I have every conficence that the execution would work out just fine.
