Columnist Dean Juipe: Reno, others struggle for survival

Dean Juipe

Friday, Aug. 23, 2002 | 9:37 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

It's a paragraph that appears to be in every story related to this weekend's Reno-Tahoe Open, as if it were mandatory or essential that the writer include it. It inevitably says the tournament is lacking a sponsor, has no prominent TV contract and is on shaky ground.

The implication is that Northern Nevada will lose its spot on the PGA Tour schedule if the situation is not resolved or corrected.

Given that Las Vegas has a leg in the same careening boat, it's easy to wonder about the precariousness of the Las Vegas Invitational. Its most recent title sponsor, Invensys, will be cutting ties to the tournament after it is held in October and, as of Thursday, no one has stepped forward to replace it.

But tournament manager Charlie Baron says not to worry.

"We haven't found anyone yet, but we have a contingency plan," he said. "We could go a year without a title sponsor if we had to.

"We're not in jeopardy."

Baron likens Las Vegas' situation to one in Phoenix.

"We -- and Phoenix -- are in a different situation from Reno due to our longevity," he said. "We've had spots on the tour for a long time."

In Las Vegas' case, it's 19 years. In Phoenix's case it's 70.

In Reno's case, however, it's only three years, and it not only is lacking the sponsorships and TV deals that benefit most tour stops, it is scheduled up against a bigger event that has drawn the world's top 78 players. The golf may be just as exciting in Reno, but its purse of $3 million pales compared to the $5 million available at the NEC World Golf Championship in Washington.

As a result, corporations have been reluctant to get involved in the Reno-Tahoe Open and it may be inching toward its deathbed.

"Actually, it's pretty well documented that there are about 12 (PGA Tour) events in search of some sort of sponsorship dollars right now," Baron said. "Motor sports are in the same predicament. The economy has slowed down and we're all vying for the same sponsorship dollars."

Also impacting these types of events in Nevada is the consolidation of hotel and casino chains, and an ensuing corporate indifference toward sponsoring sports in general. Hoteliers are less inclined than they once were to buy advertising on stadium or race track walls, and are no longer seen as potential title sponsors for major events like a professional golf tournament.

Of course the PGA Tour isn't doing the Reno-Tahoe Open any favors, nor is it pushing for a long-discussed measure that would aid every so-called secondary tour stop. It's a legal issue, yet it's one the players could accept: Rotate their schedules so that they make at least one appearance every three or four years at every tour event on the schedule.

It would mean Tiger Woods, for instance, couldn't routinely skip the tour events in the likes of Reno, Hartford and Las Vegas, where he won as a rookie without having played since. But with the players arguing that they're independent contractors who can't be restrained from participating in the events of their choice, the concept as well as the debate is moribund.

That's hardly any consolation for the golf fans up north, where the tour grazed while it could before turning its sights elsewhere.