Friday, June 22, 2001
Friday, June 22, 2001 |
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National junior tennis tourney pumped estimated $1.59 million into PTC By JOHN
MUNFORD
The Peach State Junior Tennis Classic tournament held Memorial Day Weekend in Peachtree City netted an economic impact of $1.59 million, according to official projections. Virgil Christian, director of the Peachtree City Tennis Center, said at Monday night's Development Authority meeting that the figure could actually be higher, but he would rather estimate on the conservative side. For example, during the calculations, Christian plugged a $90 per person per day spending estimate into the formula, although others argue it could have been as high as $140, he said. "It's a very standard formula," Christian said. The $90 per day figure was multiplied by the number of persons staying each day for the tournament and an "economic multiplier." The multiplier helps make sure the figure reflects how many times out-of-town dollars "turn over" in the community, said authority member Tate Godfrey. The tournament helps fill up local hotel rooms on the weekends when they are typically less crowded than during the week, Godfrey added. "I talked to some folks over at The Avenue and they said they had a great Memorial Day weekend," Christian said, noting retailers there noticed a pickup in business due to the tournament. This year's Peach State featured a qualifying round, bringing the total number of participants from 231 last year to 322 this year, said tournament organizer Sean Ferreira. A total of 28 different states, including California, were represented in the playing field. The result was a net profit of $8,000, largely thanks to increased support from sponsors, Ferreira said. "The field is getting stronger and stronger," Ferreira said, adding that it features some of the top players from throughout the country. It also helped that two tennis product manufacturers sent company representatives to the tournament, lending prestige to the event, Ferreira said. With over 10 hours of rain delays, the tournament was in danger of being cancelled, but they were able to complete play as planned, he added. Approximately 16 area youths competed in the tournament, Ferreira said. Also, a number of college coaches attended the event after receiving invitations from Christian, Ferreira said.
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