Organizers confident Staal Foundation Open will extend beyond three-year commitment

The Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada clearly wants the Staal Foundation Open to stick around.

Tour president Jeff Monday gushed on Sunday about the second-year event and how players routinely labeled Whitewater Golf Club their favourite stop of the summer.

With an estimated 14,000 fans taking in the action and hockey celebrities on hand like hall-of-famers Bobby Orr and Grant Fuhr – not to mention local stars Eric, Marc and Jordan Staal – the tournament has quickly staked a named for itself in the golfing world.

But how long can it last?

That’s the million-dollar question, says Staal Foundation Open tournament director Scott Smith.

Preliminary discussions have already begun with the Mackenzie Tour to look at extending the original three-year commitment to host the event in Thunder Bay, but a lot has to happen before any agreement can be signed.

Still, Smith said he’s not expecting any real obstacles and guessed a deal could be announced as early as next spring.
“The Tour definitely wants us to continue on,” Smith said on Tuesday, two days after Californian J.J. Spaun captured the second Staal Foundation Open title with a one-shot win over fellow American Nicholas Reach.

“Our goals starting out were to create economic impact for the city, which I think we’ve done. I believe after this year’s final numbers are in, I would guess over the two years it’s going to be between $4 million and $5 million.

“We wanted to raise money for charity, which after this year we’re up over $320,000, so that’s been accomplished.”

The tournament has proven to be a hit with the community, the organizing committee’s third and final goal.

“I think it is something we can continue on to do, but I think there’s some planning and some commitments we need, from our city partner that they see the value in the tournament and will continue to support it.”

Behind the scenes they’ll also needed continued commitments from volunteer chairs, who surrenders hundreds, if not thousands, of hours each year putting the Staal Foundation Open together and ensuring everything runs smoothly for players, volunteers and fans.

“Obviously you need a lot of bodies to commit to that and it takes a lot of time,” Smith said.

Corporate sponsorship will also have to hold steady or grow, he added.

“They’re really what decide whether this can carry on or not. At this point they’re all ecstatic about what’s happened and their involvement in it. So I think they see the economic benefits of what this brings to the city.”

Smith would also like to see the tournament grow outside the golf course. This year’s Fort Fest sold out on both nights, he said, and he’d like to see more events in other parts of the city to tie in with the Staal Foundation Open.