Our region could wallow in more riches from the U.S. Open than anyone thought – even John Ladenburg, the visionary behind Chambers Bay Golf Course.

An independent economic analysis of San Diego’s experience with the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines indicated the tournament generated combined direct and indirect regional spending of more than $142 million.

That bests Pierce County’s original $100 million estimate by a wide, wide margin.

I’m not surprised. Guess how Pierce County figured the U.S. Open would make a $100 million splash in our economy?

Just as the news broke publicly last spring that the USGA planned to announce it had selected Chambers Bay as the venue for its 2015 golf tournament, then-Pierce County Executive Ladenburg briefed the Pierce County Council.

Ladenburg described it as a big deal for the economy.

“How big?” council members wanted to know.

Ladenburg came up with the $100 million number – an educated, back-of-a-napkin guess based solely on publicized economic impact figures for previous golf tournaments.

Council members wanted to see his analysis. Ladenburg didn’t have one.

After the briefing, however, Ladenburg called Denise Dyer, his economic development director and a former bank executive, and asked for an official economic impact analysis for Pierce County that he could provide to the council.

By the end of the same day.

Dyers’ spreadsheet – which set an estimate as high as $122 million – didn’t calculate estimated spending the same way as the recent report from San Diego State University.

“It’s apples and oranges,” Dyer said. “But one of things (the San Diego) report shows is there’s a real economic impact in the community.

“Many folks around here pooh-poohed that, thinking we wouldn’t see any substantial impact. They thought the only folks who were going to make money were the USGA. That’s not true. … This could be bigger than we thought.”

So how much dough can we expect to roll in?

No one knows for sure. But we can expect the number to come in at something more than $142 million, if we make a few assumptions:

 • Chambers Bay – being the first U.S. Open in this part of the country, being a unique, links-style course and being a public course anyone can play – will add cachet to make it more of a draw than previous venues.

 • General inflation will increase the prices people pay in 2015 over what they paid last year.

 • The U.S. economy will recover some semblance of prosperity in six years and three months.

 • Golf-oriented travelers will continue their trend of spending more than the average traveler.

 • Tiger Woods, the perennial No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, will play in the tournament. When he doesn’t, attendance and television ratings suffer.

“Oh, I hope Tiger’s still playing,” Dyer said.

He played in San Diego – in a tournament that went an extra day with a head-to-head playoff between Woods and Rocco Mediate.

If you subtract that playoff day (because we can’t bank on it for 2015), the 2008 U.S. Open drew 273,832 unique visitors to the golf course over the seven days of practice and competition. Sixty-four percent of those folks came from out of the San Diego area.

And because the USGA – with a future U.S. Open in mind – provided secret design advice on Chambers Bay, the holding capacity for spectators and corporate hospitality attractions far exceeds Torrey Pines.

Yet even with San Diego’s numbers, Dyer said, the tournament would fill hotels from Olympia to Seattle. She hopes some of the four announced-but-yet-to-be-built hotels planned for downtown Tacoma rise up by then.

Critics who look for any weakness in the hoopla say Tacoma-area hotels won’t benefit much. Because during a typical U.S Open week, the hotels have roughly 80 percent of their rooms filled.

But Dyer said that with six years to plan, hotels and event planners have plenty of time to shift typical summer events to the weeks before and after the U.S. Open. That strategy will maximize the golf tournament’s economic impact.

Chambers Bay, certainly, has its immediate financial challenges. This year, due to the broader economy’s problems, looks like a subpar one for rounds played and revenue at the former gravel mine. And who knows how long those doldrums will last?

Still, Chambers Bay will accomplish what you hope a government-backed economic initiative would – a financial return on investment, a draw for out-of-town money rather than one that recirculates local money, a boost to the image of our corner of the country.

“Can’t you just see the television coverage, with the water and the Olympics in the background?” Dyer asked. “I hope people understand what a hugely positive thing this is for the community. Yeah, the economic benefits are great, but putting us on the map is better.”

Dan Voelpel: 253-597-8785

dan.voelpel@thenewstribune.com

2008 U.S. Open By the Numbers

Total economic impact: $142.08 million

Direct impact: $73.62 million

Indirect impact: $68.46 million

Total hotel room nights: 74,318

Taxes generated: $3.4 million

Total gate entries: 295,429

Out-of-town attendance: 64 percent