Detroit battles for sporting dollar

Fans' signs show their feelings as they cheer for Tiger Woods in the last Buick Open golf tournament to be held in Michigan.

DETROIT // Like thousands of Michigan car workers who have watched their jobs disappear and houses fall into foreclosure, the Buick Open was left looking for a new home earlier this month, another victim of the US economic downturn. A fixture on the PGA Tour calendar for more than 50 years, the Buick Open received its eviction notice after the struggling Detroit carmaker GM, maker of the Buick, confirmed it could no longer afford to continue as title sponsor.

The PGA Tour quickly found a new home for the tournament in the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, but the hole it left in recession-ravaged Michigan will not be so easily filled. The Buick's demise adds to a summer of grim headlines for Michigan sports fans. They also learned this month that the Indy Racing League and the Detroit Grand Prix will not be back in 2010, leaving the downtown Belle Isle circuit to joggers and cyclists.

Detroit's big four professional teams - the Lions (NFL), the Tigers (MLB), the Pistons (NBA) and the Red Wings (NHL) - are not looking for new addresses but are digging in for what is shaping up as a bruising battle for the shrinking sports entertainment dollar. With the busy autumn sports season about to begin, the fight for fans is quickly escalating in the Motor City as teams flood the market with bargain basement deals.

After going all last season without a victory, the 0-16 Lions are trying to win back fans by offering season ticket packages for as low as US$230 (Dh 846) for 10 games. Stanley Cup finalists the last two seasons, the Red Wings were once the hottest sporting ticket in Detroit but fans can watch them now for as little as $9. The rebuilding Pistons, who saw their streak of 259 consecutive home sell-outs end last season, will have to find novel ways to fill those empty seats.

However, the Central Division-leading Tigers have managed to maintain respectable attendances, averaging close to 30,000 a game with the help of some creative ticket pricing. "It's tough, this is a city with four major sports and we are all competing for the same dollar, said Jimmy Devellano, senior vice-president of both the Tigers and the Red Wings. "There is only so much to go around. It's like a ghost town. You see it, you feel it all over."

Even in a state left numb by soaring unemployment, the loss of the Buick Open stung almost as much as another round of job cuts, leaving Michigan without a major golf event and further denting the state's reputation as a top sporting destination. Tiger Woods said a fond farewell to one of his favourite courses after a third Buick victory. He praised the crowd, saying: "With the economy, how it is going on in this region, for them to come and still support the event is very special to all us players."

In nearby Flint, where unemployment is among the highest in the US at 17.4 per cent, recession-hardened residents volunteering at the Warwick Hills venue shed a few tears as they said goodbye to a summer tradition. "It's just part of their DNA up here, generations have come to the Buick Open," said Robb Grainger, the Buick tournament director. "They are such great golf fans in this state and this is the last show in town.

"There's no major, there's no Champions Tour, there is no LPGA, we are the last bastion of professional golf in the state of Michigan. "It's unfortunate, it does so much good for the area, not only the local economic impact but what we do charity-wise." In an area reeling from the collapse of the car industry, the Buick's departure will take more than an emotional toll on local businesses that depended on the tournament to help see them through increasingly lean times. According to the Flint Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Buick Open pumped $10-$12 million into the local economy annually while millions more over the years have been donated to local county charities.

"When I was in high school I came here and later on I brought my son out, it's an emotional thing plus it impacts the economy," said Mike Martin, a retired car worker and Buick volunteer for 26 years. "It's just like the trickle down effect with the GM workers, when you lose a job it affects six other people. "That one week here affects all the small businesses in the area. What they make in that one week might make the difference and keep them afloat."

* Reuters