Improving fan experience priority for Rogers tournament organizers

ROGERS -- International attention may be fixated on the 144 professional golfers at the NW Arkansas Championship on Tuesday to June 28, but tournament organizers are focusing on fans with the creation of several new activities designed to engage the community, the tournament director said.

"A lot of this enlargement is a result of what we've built over the last nine years," director Harry Hardy said. "People are starting to realize what a fun event it is. You don't have to be a golf fan to come out."

Since 2006, the LPGA tournament at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers has drawn the top female golfers in the world, including former University of Arkansas graduate and last year's champion, Stacy Lewis. As the women's golf game has gained momentum globally, Northwest Arkansas interest in the tournament has increased, Hardy said.

To accommodate larger crowds, organizers used a donation from the Kimberly-Clark Corp. to enlarge spectator grandstands around the first, ninth, 17th and 18th holes.

On the front nine, additional seating around the first tee provides viewing space on two sides of the tee box, and a viewing deck at the ninth hole provides spectators with a view of the green and approaching shots.

At the 17th hole -- known informally as the "loudest hole in golf" -- three viewing options, including a viewing deck and a pavilion, provide spectators with open-air and air-conditioned spaces to watch the game from different vantage points.

"The 17th hole is not your traditional golf viewing hole, and it's unlike any other hole on the LPGA Tour," Hardy said. "People are encouraged to get loud and show support for the players."

A wrap-around viewing deck at the 18th hole was the final seating addition.

"With the increased viewing space, the atmosphere around those holes will be incredible, especially on Sunday," Hardy said. "I think we'll have a lot of energy all over the place."

All new viewing structures are open to general admission ticket holders.

To draw larger crowds, two new events, the 5K @ the LPGA and the Greenway to the LPGA, were created to expose a new demographic of people to the tournament, Hardy said.

"Our hope is that through these events, people will think this looks interesting and come out to see the tournament," he said.

More than 300 people have signed up for the inaugural 5K, which will be Saturday. Starting and finishing at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, the multiterrain course winds past the tournament's signature hole and underneath a grandstand. Proceeds from the race's $20 registration fee benefit the Mercy Health Foundation of Northwest Arkansas.

"What better place for fans to experience the LPGA atmosphere than to run past the loudest hole?" said Kyle Brunen, the health and wellness program manager for Mercy. "You'll never see another 5K like it. We hope this encourages them to take their physical health seriously and foster some healthy habits after the event."

After the race, another event to promote health and wellness will kick off at the Downtown Activity Center in Bentonville. Bike riders participating in the Greenway to the LPGA will follow a 15-mile path on the Razorback Regional Greenway to the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers where they will be shuttled to the course. The first 100 riders to register receive a daily pass to the tournament.

Organizers are also engaging the community with a two-day food festival that incorporates nearly 40 Northwest Arkansas restaurants, including Crepes Paulette, Apple Blossom Brewing Co. and Roma Italian. The festival consists of two events, the Taste of NW Arkansas and the NW Arkansas Beer & Burger Fest, in which spectators can sample Southern-style menu items from participating restaurants.

Two-time Grammy Award-winning artist Colbie Caillat, known for single "Bubbly," will close out fan events June 27 with a performance at the AMP.

Tickets for the food festival and the concert are sold out.

Volunteers will be on hand throughout the week to direct visitors to spectator zones and viewing spaces. In addition, hole marshals will ensure fans observe proper golf etiquette by keeping visitors quiet when golfers are teeing off and putting.

More than 700 people have registered to volunteer, and shifts are still available, tournament chairman Jay Allen said.

"Being a professional golf volunteer is a unique experience because you're in the course and in the game," he said. "You're walking inside the ropes with the players, not in a seat 500 feet away."

With temperatures expected in the upper 90s, volunteers will be passing out cooling towels in shade stations sprinkled throughout the course, Allen said. Mercy workers will also provide sunscreen and minor first aid to spectators, Brunen said.

Concession stands will be throughout the course, and bottled water will be available for $1.

A new Spectator Refreshments Mercato featuring three food vendors based on local restaurants will be next to the 17th and 18th holes. Two vendors, named after the food festival events, will offer barbecue sandwiches, specialty burgers and craft beers, Hardy said.

The third refreshment option is a lemonade stand whose proceeds will go to the Northwest Arkansas Children's Shelter. Most meals cost about $7, he said.

NW News on 06/21/2015