The Players Championship is Northeast Florida's signature event -- or is it?

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Didn't there used to be a fairly large women's tennis tournament in Amelia?

[Adam White]

Didn't there used to be a fairly large women's tennis tournament in Amelia?

Yes - I think it was the Bausch & Lomb Championships. I saw Gabriela Sabatini and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario there in the early 90s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Island_Championships

[Adam White]

Florida-Georgia weekend and the TPC are by far the biggest events in Jacksonville where people from outside the city want to come in to attend. Good move by the PGA and it should be fine for Jax.

TPC far eclipses the FL-GA game. I used to work with a guy who was an avid golfer. He knew about Jax b/c of the TPC. The TPC has far more national and international recognition than the FL-GA game. No one outside of the south east who doesn't really care about college football or those teams really knows that much (if anything at all) about that game.

[Jim]

Florida-Georgia weekend and the TPC are by far the biggest events in Jacksonville where people from outside the city want to come in to attend. Good move by the PGA and it should be fine for Jax.

TPC far eclipses the FL-GA game. I used to work with a guy who was an avid golfer. He knew about Jax b/c of the TPC. The TPC has far more national and international recognition than the FL-GA game. No one outside of the south east who doesn't really care about college football or those teams really knows that much (if anything at all) about that game.

FL-GA pulls the larger regional crowd.
PGA pulls the larger national/international crowd.

FL-GA pulls the larger overall non-resident crowd.  No reason to make them a competition between each other. 

[Adam White]

Florida-Georgia weekend and the TPC are by far the biggest events in Jacksonville where people from outside the city want to come in to attend. Good move by the PGA and it should be fine for Jax.

TPC far eclipses the FL-GA game. I used to work with a guy who was an avid golfer. He knew about Jax b/c of the TPC. The TPC has far more national and international recognition than the FL-GA game. No one outside of the south east who doesn't really care about college football or those teams really knows that much (if anything at all) about that game.

FL-GA pulls the larger regional crowd.
PGA pulls the larger national/international crowd.

FL-GA pulls the larger overall non-resident crowd.  No reason to make them a competition between each other.

Not "making a competition" so much as providing a comment in line with the title of the thread (or perhaps the spirit of it).

Anyway - what are the television viewing figures? I am curious (I don't know the answer) and when I made my comment, I wasn't thinking in terms of people attending the events.

[fsquid]

4.45 million watched the GA-FL game this past year and The Players was 3.7

[Adam White]

4.45 million watched the GA-FL game this past year and The Players was 3.7

Thanks!

That's crazy, given that the 2015 TPC apparently managed 19.3 million (cumulative - and maybe not unique) viewers. What a drop-off!

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/nbcs-coverage-of-the-players-championship-draws-19-3-million-viewers-and-is-most-watched-weekend-pga-tour-event-since-2013/

[Tacachale]

4.45 million watched the GA-FL game this past year and The Players was 3.7

Thanks!

That's crazy, given that the 2015 TPC apparently managed 19.3 million (cumulative - and maybe not unique) viewers. What a drop-off!

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/nbcs-coverage-of-the-players-championship-draws-19-3-million-viewers-and-is-most-watched-weekend-pga-tour-event-since-2013/

Yes, that's not unique views. Unique views for 2015 were 5 million. It's still a substantial drop, but that's been happening for over a decade. FL-GA was also down over past years, though that game often fluctuates depending on how the two teams are doing going into it.

Both events are big for the city (and region) but one thing to keep in mind is that FL-GA is actually played in Jax and most of its impact is here. TPC is in St. Johns and very many people who come into "town" for it barely set a foot in Duval County.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2017/05/players-championship-ratings-down-pga-tour-slump-nbc/

[CityLife]

2017 was the worst leaderboard The Players (or any big tournament) has had in some time. Not surprising that ratings were bad.

Moving it back to March should be a good thing. The heat in late May was brutal for fans and players and generally speaking Mom's don't want to watch golf on Mother's Day.

[FlaBoy]

4.45 million watched the GA-FL game this past year and The Players was 3.7

Thanks!

That's crazy, given that the 2015 TPC apparently managed 19.3 million (cumulative - and maybe not unique) viewers. What a drop-off!

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/nbcs-coverage-of-the-players-championship-draws-19-3-million-viewers-and-is-most-watched-weekend-pga-tour-event-since-2013/

The March date will only compete with college basketball conference tournaments and mid-season basketball/hockey. I think it is a good move.

[JaxAvondale]

Jax will host the NCAA tournament in 2019. March 2019 should be a good month for the local economy.

[remc86007]

"...generally speaking Mom's don't want to watch golf on Mother's Day."

I always thought that was bizarre. Happy Mother's Day! Want to pay to park on a dirt lot, walk several miles, pay $9 for Miller Light, and stand (in 90 degree weather) behind people watching a sporting event that have been camping for four hours to be able to have a good view? What more could a mother ask for? For a sporting event, on the other hand, all of those things are just par for the course...

[TimmyB]

Not being a local (yet), I can't even begin to get involved in the "debate".  That said, what I will say is something that I've said on other threads, which involved Jacksonville's "identity crisis".  If you ask 100 golf fans who are not from the Southeast where the TPC is played at, most can tell you "Sawgrass" or "Ponte Vedra Beach".  Probably less than 25 of those could identify it as "Jacksonville area".  That is a problem, if you are desiring to have folks come here and spend money.  When I told people over the past two years that I was moving to Jacksonville, I was stunned that I had to tell far to many of them that it was in Florida!  That is also a problem.

We came to Jacksonville on a whim, only because we had already seen every other large city in Florida, save for the Panhandle.  We were blown away by all that it had to offer, especially that it's almost entirely driven by non-tourism dollars.  Imagine if Jax/NE Florida actually started marketing themselves properly to us northerners!  Golf destination?  Check.  Beach destination?  Check.  Great shopping?  Check.  Easy access airport?  Check. 

As for me, I can't wait to check out a FL/GA game as a resident!  I want to share in that excitement that you don't get on TV from 1200 miles away!  I would also love to take in a round at the TPC during the tournament week.  Something that was impossible for a teacher from Michigan to do.

[remc86007]

^Welcome! I'm sure you'll love it here. Jacksonville is a largely unappreciated gem. As someone who grew up in Jacksonville and then moved away and later came back, I can tell you that it is hard to know just how good we have it here till one tries living in another city. The complacency is real around here.

[TimmyB]

^Welcome! I'm sure you'll love it here. Jacksonville is a largely unappreciated gem. As someone who grew up in Jacksonville and then moved away and later came back, I can tell you that it is hard to know just how good we have it here till one tries living in another city. The complacency is real around here.

Thank you!  I totally get that vibe on these forums.  People are simply spoiled by all of this and only see the negatives.  Granted, there are plenty of things that could be improved on, but what a gem this city is.  October 1 can't come soon enough, for me!