Keep these numbers in your head: 33,340 man hours and an outlay of nearly $2.2 million. This is what it takes annually to build the temporary structures that are an integral part of one of Houston’s premier sporting events.
No, it’s not Minute Maid Park where the Astros play Major League Baseball.
Not Toyota Center where the Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association.
Not Reliant Stadium where the Texans take on foes in the National Football League.
Each of those facilities has been standing for years. Fans can walk through the gates, find their seats and watch the action. Imagine what it would be like if those facilities had to completely reconstructed every year.
Those thousands of man hours and millions of dollars mentioned above are what it takes annually for the Houston Golf Association (HGA) to get ready for thousands of golf fans who attend the Shell Houston Open. When the PGA TOUR comes to town each spring fans know that Redstone Golf Club’s Tournament Course in Humble is their destination. Air conditioned skyboxes—some of them double-deckers, grandstands, concession areas and restroom facilities will dot the landscape behind gallery ropes. The golf course literally becomes an arena.
HGA, a local non-profit organization which has brought professional golf to the Greater Houston Area since 1946, goes to incredible lengths to make sure tournament attendees enjoy the event. “It is almost like we construct a stadium each year,” says Steve Timms, President and CEO of the HGA. “Then we have to tear it down.”
Houston’s PGA TOUR stop is the sport’s 10th oldest. Annually, it attracts crowds of 120,000-plus fans. This year the Shell Houston Open will be played the week of March 26–April 1,
one week before The Masters tournament.
On-course construction begins the first week of February and hopefully concludes the weekend before some of the best golfers in the world come to town to play for $5.5 million in prize money.
“If Mother Nature is kind to us the overall construction can be concluded before the weekend prior,” says Timms. “However, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate. Our operations are by and large seven days a week until the tournament.”
 Today’s PGA TOUR tournament requires a myriad of on-course facilities. Fans have come to expect top amenities when they walk through the front gate. Building an assortment of structures from the ground up in six weeks is no small undertaking. Every attempt is made to make these temporary structures feel permanent.
Trey Jackson, Operations Manager for the Houston Golf Association, knows what sponsors and attendees expect. He coordinates the efforts of more than a dozen companies hired to provide specific products. “Thank goodness we have a great core of volunteers who devote a lot of time to our tournament operations,” says Jackson. “HGA members like Doug Campbell and Joe White spend months helping coordinate everything that goes on the golf course.”
The days of a handshake deal are long gone. Every supplier utilized by the tournament has to go through a bidding process. Only multi-year contracts are awarded. “That keeps everybody concerned focused on doing the best possible job,” adds Jackson.
Because it is a non-profit organization promoting a professional sporting event, HGA is a true hybrid. It has a board of directors. It has a special Shell Houston Open Operating Committee. “Everything we do is scrutinized,” says Timms. “We wouldn’t have it any other way. Our net profits are distributed to local charity. We are very mindful of our budgets.”
HGA’s leadership is proud of the fact it has generated more than $44 million for local worthy causes through golf promotion dating back to 1974. Success like that leads to long-term relationships. Shell Oil Company has been the title sponsor since 1992, one of the longest tenures among PGA TOUR title. Last year Shell signed a 5-year extension through 2012. HGA is in the fifth year of a 10-year agreement with The Redstone Companies. Discussions about an extension are in the works.
“We have good partners, dedicated volunteers and a lot of loyal sponsors who come back year after year,” says Timms. “Support like that has to be earned over the long haul.” |
