MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Despite its one-year COVID 19 caused postponement, area businesses are still hoping to cash in on the $135 million the Ryder Cup was projected to bring to the region.
Hotels were booked all the way from Green Bay to Milwaukee for the golf event that was supposed to take place at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan County this September 25-27. The event will now take place there in September 24-26 of 2021.
“Really it is what we would consider selling out our community, that kind of event,” said Jason Ring, the President of the Manitowoc Area Visitors & Convention Bureau.
With the postponement, Manitowoc County just lost a ton of hotel room stays in 2020, but the hope is it just gained that ton for 2021.
“I have 34 rooms, two queen beds, everything was taken,” said Mayur Pokya, owner and general manager of the Quality Inn Manitowoc.
Pokya had members of the Ryder Cup’s grounds crew booked to stay at his Quality Inn Hotel for a six-month stay.
“Right now, it’s really a hard time.”
Pokya was hoping the grounds crew’s long-term stay would make up for all his pandemic losses. For a while, Pokya tells FOX 11 he was only booking a handful of rooms each night.
“Right now I’m running this hotel like a one-man army, doing everything. We don’t have night shift. I’m doing night shift. I’m doing day shift. I’m doing housekeeping. It’s like we had a really big hope for this event to recover.”
Par 5 Resort in Mishicot had media and operations crews staying for multiple weeks in its 102 hotel rooms.
“So we host weddings on Fridays and Saturdays, so now that releases six dates for us that we’ve got to fill in September,” said Lloyd Young, director of operations for Par 5 Resort.
Young is confident the dates will be rebooked. He says weddings scheduled for next year will now likely have to be shifted.
The hotels FOX 11 spoke with say they will to try to rework contracts and bookings with the same groups they had planned for this year.
While the postponing for a potential of a regular event next year is a far superior option than having an event this year with no fans, some businesses were actually pulling for a reduced capacity event this year. That’s because with the pandemic going on they aren’t sure if they will make it to next year to reap any of the Ryder Cup benefits.
“Anytime any event cancels it’s a big impact on our community, but this one that is really a blockbuster in terms of what it means to our community,” said Ring.
While there is plenty of sting for now, most businesses are finding comfort the profits are still coming. They just need to rebook all the plans they’ve had teed up for so long.
