⛳️ The Ryder Cup is Insane for the Host City

The World Athletics Championships were incredible.

I find it fascinating that Athletics is not more popular on a global scale. Some of those races were truly cinema to watch.

This week however, all attention turns to the Ryder Cup. On Friday, 24 of the worlds best golfers will embark on three days of golfing excellence in New York.

The tournament is so big that not only do broadcasters benefit, but the local communities where the tournament is held benefit big too. Economists suggest that the host town of any Ryder Cup tournament sees an unprecedented economic boost every single edition. So me being me, I had to dig deeper!

Today I unpack if this statement is true and bring you all the numbers. Come on Team Europe! 🇪🇺 

When the Ryder Cup rolls into town, like it will in New York later this week, the sales pitch is simple.

Millions in spending. Packed hotels. Global TV exposure. And a week of golf that transforms local economies. When doing my research for this video I learned how impactful these tournaments are to the local areas and the numbers were pretty mental.

Take Rome 2023. Organisers claimed the event generated over €250m for the city of Rome! Of that money:

1. Circa €100m was spent by tourists

2. More than 270,000 fans came through the gates at the event

3. 40% of those fans were from outside of Italy

On paper, those numbers are insane. But I found some literature that suggested they were not as impressive as they may seem. Some Italian economists suggested many of those visitors were already coming to Italy, they just came during Ryder Cup week instead of later. This is often called the Substitution Effect in tourism economics.

Regardless, it made me look deeper…

Take Wales 2010.

The Welsh Government put in £50m of public money to bring the Ryder Cup to Celtic Manor. After the event, the official line was that it delivered an £82m boost to the economy plus another £50m in “exposure value” on global TV.

Sounds great.

But on the ground? Newport’s restaurants said business was down, not up. Traffic restrictions and security zones kept locals away. It looked like a win in the data, but not everyone was celebrating.

Scotland in 2014 saw the numbers go higher again. An official study claimed the Gleneagles Ryder Cup generated £106m in economic value, with almost two-thirds of fans coming from overseas. VisitScotland called it a “once-in-a-generation shop window.” It worked too.

France won the next bid partly by promising to do the same.

As such, Paris 2018 was billed as the boldest yet. €235m in economic impact! 270,000 fans, and a pledge to build hundreds of new public golf courses as part of the legacy. But the legacy was patchy. Those courses didn’t fully materialise.

What did materialise however, was the €40m of public guarantees that underpinned the event!

And now all eyes are on New York. Bethpage Black 2025 is being hyped as the biggest Ryder Cup ever. Officials are forecasting $150–200m in local spending and Long Island hotels are already close to sold out.

Corporate hospitality is driving much of the growth. Some of the packages cost upwards of $10,000, and almost all have been snapped up by companies who see the Ryder Cup as a week-long client schmooze.

So what’s the truth?

The Ryder Cup definitely brings crowds, headlines, and prestige.

For one week, Rome or Newport or Bethpage becomes the centre of the sporting world. But the economic story is… far less clear. Governments often spend tens of millions to secure hosting rights, while the real profits flow straight back to golf’s governing bodies.

The players of course, barely see any of it.

You can watch my video on this below:

I leave you this week with two things.

The first is a word on Manchester United’s financial results. Here are the 4 key takeaways:

• We posted record revenues of £666.5m despite finishing 15th

• Our losses reduced massively to £33m. They were over £100m last year!

• Commercial and matchday revenues hit all-time highs. Insane considering how we’ve been playing

United’s finances are a strange mix of strength and fragility. The club can post record revenues even while finishing 15th, which shows how powerful the commercial machine still is. But the lack of European football will bite next year, and the margin for error is thin. Losses are lower, but £36.6m spent on sacking managers sums it up so well.

We are own worst enemy.

I leave you tonight with the final of the Women’s 400m in Tokyo this week.

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone is 😮‍💨 She (along with Paulino) ran under 48:00 in the rain, something which has not happened by any woman in over 30 years.

Incredible scenes.

See you next week.