The R&A is officially ushering in its new hospitality era this week at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
The organization went to market last year with a new plan that gave buyers four expanded options compared to prior years: The “Signature” product will be the most premium, followed by “Platinum,” “Premium” and “Select.” Each of the four offer varying degrees of access across the golf course; in previous years -- for the most part -- premium buyers would have access to just one hospitality venue.
Neil Armit, the R&A’s chief commercial officer, said the market responded “really well” to the shift, and now it will be a “fascinating first year of actually delivering that in full practice.”
Armit expects around 16,000 people throughout the week to pass through the premium hospitality experiences.
For the week, R&A officials are expecting crowds of 300,000 on the ground at Birkdale, which would set a record for the Open, eclipsing the prior mark of 290,000 set in 2022 at St Andrews. Armit expects that 300,000 figure to be surpassed at next year’s Open at St Andrews. Total attendance for the last Open at Birkdale in 2017 came in at 235,000. Ticketing revenue at Birkdale is expected to increase by 25% over last year at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, Armit said.
The R&A also has its “Kids Go Free” program at the Open. Started in 1997, the program is expected to reach 450,000 this week at Birkdale.
Armit attributes the attendance increases to a number of factors, including being more strategic about ticketing as well as the growth of golf at the recreational level since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve certainly seen just an uptick in interest,” Armit said. “Probably over the last few years you’ve seen a real, even further elevation of the majors as well and the interest and the appetite, the very best fields coming together and just I think the game being seen as being just a bit cooler now than it was probably 10 years or so ago. And so I think all of that, and I think the experience we’re delivering at the Open, that’s all contributed.”
The R&A has been capping its Thursday-Sunday attendance at around 50,000 to ensure the on-site experience isn’t downgraded, and thus has put more of an emphasis on pushing sales earlier in the week.
As part of that push, the R&A hosted a “Last Chance Qualifier” on Monday that will feature 12 players competing for one final spot at Birkdale. On Tuesday, it’ll host a “Heroes Classic” competition over three holes at Birkdale, including defending champ Scottie Scheffler and two past champions at Birkdale, Jordan Spieth and Padraig Harrington. Defending AIG Women’s Open Champion Miyu Yamashita also will compete.
The R&A for this year’s Open has eight of its signature “Patron” partners: Accenture, Boss, Doosan, HSBC, Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, Nikon and Rolex. Two sources estimated the patron deals in the $4M-$7M range annually. Accenture is new to that list, replacing NTT Data, which is now one of nine “official suppliers.”
Other official suppliers for the Open include Aggreko, Hilton Head Island, Loch Lomond Whiskies, NetJets, Singha, Toptracer, UPS and Visit Scotland.
