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Dollars from bowling Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Rob Rice of Sunnyside, Wash., finished third in the Professional Bowlers Association Medford Open last weekend. Pro bowlers and ESPN television crews helped fill rooms at nearby Rogue Regency Hotel during the event; other hotels didn't do so well. It's tough to gauge how much the PBA tournament helped the local economy By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune It may be too early to know if the Professional Bowlers Association Tour brought $10 million into town as predicted, local business and tourism leaders say. "We had enough business here that we can put our finger on it, but the residual benefit far outweighs the business we had in town," said Roberta Cress, director of marketing and sales for Rogue Regency, a tournament sponsor. "By promoting Southern Oregon and Medford, it does trickle down to the hotel and to all the hospitality industry." Rogue Regency reserved about 70 out of 260 rooms for professional bowlers and their families, Cress said. Some bowlers stayed two nights while others stayed six, for an accumulated total of 260 rooms. "We had most of the bowlers stay with us and the PBA staff, also the ESPN crew came in on the weekend," Cress said. "We picked up extra business at the restaurant and lounge." But other hotel managers, including at Comfort Inn and Windmill Inn, reported no tour-related reservations. "It was disappointing," said Sue Gray, general manager for Windmill Inn of Medford. "Maybe it was over-anticipation for the first year or maybe the economic impacts were over-sold." The tournament drew 7,500 people over the six-day event, said Julie Petretto, executive director of the Visitors and Convention Bureau. Each day of the tournament, between 600 and 1,000 spectators watched the 119 professional bowlers compete, said Randy Cochran, corporate resource manager for Lava Lanes, where the tournament was held. Several hundred amateurs also competed, for a total of about 1,000 bowlers, Cochran said. But motel managers wonder how many fans were local and how many out-of-town visitors brought motor homes and stayed for free in the Lava Lanes and Wal-Mart parking lots. "We did have an increase in motor homes in the parking lot, but we don't know how much it was related to the tournament," said JoEllen Stodola, Wal-Mart store manager. Wal-Mart sales were up over the same weekend last January and the store had more foot traffic, Stodola said. Sales were up at Fred Meyer as well, but it's not as simple as giving PBA all the credit, said Darin Baker, director of the north store. During the same weekend last year, Winco's opening across town pulled curious customers away from all area grocery stores. After next year's tournament, businesses should be able to better analyze the numbers, he said. "But anything we can do as a community like bringing the PBA tour, there's no question we can bring money into the valley," Baker said. "Medford should keep doing it." Tourism officials predicted the tournament would bring $5 million into town directly and $10 indirectly. Some of the benefit may come later in the year from ESPN viewers who glimpsed Crater Lake, rafting on the Rogue River, historic Jacksonville and Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Elizabethan Theater during the bowling coverage, Petretto said. "We received national coverage and this is something we couldn't afford to do on our own," Petretto said. "There are people on the East Coast who know where Medford is now. "Sometimes we get tunnel vision that we're only talking about the tourism industry and visitors, but it reached beyond that," Petretto said. "People felt proud to be Medford residents." Lava Lanes of Medford signed a three-year contract with the PBA and a three-year option beyond that, Cochran said. Next year's tournament is scheduled for Jan. 6-12. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.