Lake County communities see green in BMW Championship
The 70 top professional golfers in the world won’t be the only ones trying to score this week when the BMW Championship comes to Conway Farms in Lake Forest.
Lake County and surrounding communities will be chasing a potentially substantial but elusive payoff from tens of thousands of daily visitors who they hope will eat at their restaurants, stay in their hotels and visit their stores from Sept. 9 to 15.
And who knows? Maybe a corporate visitor or two will find Lake County amenities attractive enough to consider setting up shop here.
“We anticipate a $30 million economic impact to the area,” said Vince Pellegrino, vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association, which is conducting the event.
With a stellar field of household names competing for $8 million in prize money ($1.44 million to the winner), this third leg of the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedExCup is not just another tournament.
“The majority of the people will be coming from outside Lake County for the championship,” Pellegrino said. “With the way ticket sales have gone we’re anticipating large crowds.”
He estimated that over its run, the event will attract about 125,000 people — mostly spectators, but that figure includes 1,600 volunteers and support staff. Attendance is projected at 25,000 to 30,000 each day Thursday through Sunday for the tournament competition.
Who benefits
The potential has been no secret to the Lake County Convention & Visitors Bureau, which during the past year has coordinated planning meetings with its community partners, including Lincolnshire, Libertyville, Lake Forest and Vernon Hills, which are near Conway Farms Golf Club.
Restaurants and hotels will be the main benefactors, according to Maureen Riedy, president of the organization.
“I think we’re trying to do as much as we can,” she said. “A lot of it is trying to get the word out before they (visitors) arrive and getting them information on dining opportunities when they’re at the hotels.”
Riedy estimated about 30 percent of visitors will be from outside the Chicago area. For example, the target audience includes the 30,000 members of the Wisconsin State Golf Association, who have been contacted via email.
“That’s the kind of scenario that could have a huge economic impact on the area,” she said.
There are about 8,600 hotel rooms in Lake County. Though September is traditionally strong, hotels are expecting a spike for the coming week, according to Riedy.
For some, the impact was evident well in advance. For example, the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort has 389 rooms and generally is up to 75 percent full in the summer. But this coming week, the occupancy could reach the low 90 percent mark, according to Hassan El Neklawy, general manager.
“I’ve been booked for a while. I have several groups in the hotel, media, sponsors,” he said recently. “It’s been a very strong week for us overall.”
He expected the resort’s golf course also to be busy due to a “golf fever” that accompanies such an event.