Charlotte businesses eager for Presidents Cup: ‘A week’s worth of revenue in one day’

Small business owners in Charlotte like restaurateur Dalton Espaillat can’t wait to take a swing at some healthy profits from the 2022 Presidents Cup, the golf tournament that starts this week and is expected to draw 200,000 people to the city with a wide-reaching international spotlight.

“Those four days will be like Cinco de Mayo each day, which is a week’s worth of revenue in one day,” said Espaillat, co-owner of La Caseta restaurant in Camp North End.

Presidents Cup events run Tuesday-Sunday, Sept. 20-25 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. The four-day competition is Thursday-Sunday but the course opens to spectators on Tuesday and Wednesday, as top U.S. and international golfers shoot practice rounds.

Although the Presidents Cup started 28 years ago, it’s only the 14th tournament because it’s held biennially. And it’s only held domestically every four years, the cup’s executive director Adam Sperling said.

Charlotte will be on display to the world with over a billion households expected to watch the competition in over 230 countries, Sperling said.

“It’s a presentation of the city on a global scale,” he said. “This is Charlotte’s opportunity to shine.”

Good luck finding a hotel room

While the economic impact can’t be determined until after the event, city and tournament officials say, it is giving Charlotte’s tourism and hospitality industry a boost, said Tom Murray, CEO of Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

“Early demand has been strong and certainly, hotels are sold out now and have been for sometime,” he said.

But the tournament also reaches markets around the world “we don’t usually reach,” Murray said.

The competition, which pits 12 top U.S. golfers against 12 top international players, also can play a role in the city’s future economic development, strengthening ties with leaders of foreign corporations, building new relationships and even leading to corporate relocations, Murray and Sperling said.

“We think these events play a role in getting our reputation out there,” Murray said.

A taste of Charlotte

The Presidents Cup also will bring in a range of flavors of Charlotte’s small businesses to the links.

The list of local food vendors are: Cuzzo’s Cuisine, La Caseta, Ace No. 3 Burgers, What the Fries, El Toro Bruto, Two Scoops Creamery, Sunflour Bakery, Noble Smoke BBQ and Viva Chicken.

NoDa brewing also will be serving pints.

“It’s a big honor,” said Greg Williams, co-owner of What The Fries. “It’s like celebrity status.”

What The Fries started eight years ago by Williams and Jamie Barnes as a catering company. Known for its hand-cut loaded fries, in 2015 they started a food truck and in 2021 opened a restaurant on Park Road.

To staff the Presidents Cup, the food truck won’t be running. To prepare for the cup, What The Fries is renting four fryers and other equipment. Williams said the food order included about 45 50-pound boxes of fries.

“We’ll be blanching a lot of fries, working day and night,” he said.

He hopes exposure at the cup will gain the business new customers and catering events. “It’s a great opportunity to get our name out there and more people trying our food,” he said.

Over at La Caseta, Espaillat said on Thursday that prepping for the President’s Cup had begun. “It takes a little army to do that,” he said.

The Latin American restaurant is used to serving sports fans en masse at Bank of America Stadium in uptown, and he expects to do at least twice the amount of a Panthers game.

“It’s a big prestige, and it’s cool we’re part of it,” Espaillat said of the President’s Cup.

Along with food vendors, two North Carolina apparel companies will be at the PGA Tour Presidents Cup Fan Shop: Charlotte’s own 704 Shop and Peter Millar based in Raleigh.

It’s the largest fan shop in the tournament’s history with 40,000-square-feet of apparel, Sperling said.

Impact of past Presidents Cups

The Presidents Cup started in 1994 in Virginia. It’s since been held in Australia, South Africa, Canada, South Korea, and also New Jersey and California.

The Presidents Cup was held in 1998, 2011 and 2019 in Melbourne, Australia, and “generated a combined economic impact of more than $121 million, thousands of hours in broadcasts globally, and more than 315,000 spectators, including 47,000 visitors to Victoria,” according to a news release from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. That’s about $82 million in U.S. currency, according to fx-rate.net.

In 2017, the last time the Presidents Cup was held on U.S. soil in Jersey City, N.J., it was attended by three former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

In 2013, the competition was in Dublin, Ohio. The cup had an economic impact of about $22 million on central Ohio, according to The Columbus Dispatch, with attendance of 150,000 people and hotels marking “the largest month of bed tax generation ever.”

Other big events in Charlotte

Charlotte is familiar with hosting large national events, such as the 2017 PGA Championship, 2012 Democratic National Convention and CIAA tournaments, but “this will be one of the larger events we’ve ever hosted,” Murray said.

Such large events are crucial for the city’s tourism and hospitality industries, too, which are still recovering after the pandemic has eased.

The 2012 Democratic National Convention had an estimated economic impact of $163.6 million, including $91 million in direct visitor spending, according to the CRVA.

The CIAA Basketball Tournament five-year average from 2016 to 2020 brought an estimated annual economic impact of $51.2 million and average annual direct visitor spending of $29 million, according to data from CRVA.

In 2019, the NBA All-Star weekend had an estimated economic impact of $87.7 million, according to CRVA, including $48.7 million in direct visitor spending. Murray expects the President’s Cup could be about the same.

Because Charlotte’s hospitality industry employs 1 in 9 people in the region, Murray said “these events are really important to us.”

Beyond the golf course

To be successful hosting events like the President’s Cup, Murray said, it takes infrastructure, including having plenty of hotels and a welcoming community.

“It certainly has helped our hotel industry,” Murray said. “We’ve been working on growing to host these large events and conventions as well.”

Airbnb said Charlotte is trending on the online platform. Top guest bookings, according to Airbnb, are coming from throughout the Carolinas and across the country including Ohio, New York and Illinois, and as far away as Santiago, Chile.

In 2017, when the Presidents Cup was in New Jersey, Airbnb hosts collectively earned nearly $300,000, with the typical host earning over $500 during the golf tournament.

“High demand events create economic opportunity,” said Airbnb spokesman Haven Thorn. “It’s opportunistic hosting.”

Presidents Cup ticket holders also are being welcomed in other ways throughout the city.

Tournament ticket holders, for example, can receive free admission to The Mint Museum throughout the tournament. The uptown museum at 500 S. Tryon St. is across the street from The Green, where the Presidents Cup is hosting a free watch party daily.

With Presidents Cup tickets sold out for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and limited availability Thursday, Sperling said it’s a testament to the host city.

“This is the largest and most successful Presidents Cup we’ve ever had,” Sperling said.

This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Charlotte businesses eager for Presidents Cup: ‘A week’s worth of revenue in one day’."