The 2010 Frys.com Open, an event in the PGA Tour’s fall series,
will be played at CordeValle golf course in San Martin.
The 2010 Frys.com Open, an event in the PGA Tour’s fall series, will be played at CordeValle golf course in San Martin.
Following two weeks of rumors and speculation, Fry’s Electronics and the PGA Tour confirmed the event’s move at the electronics store’s corporate offices in San Jose today.
“From the onset, the Frys.com Open has done a tremendous job in running and promoting its PGA Tour event,” said Tim Finchem, PGA Tour commissioner. “The move to California near its corporate headquarters assures the continued growth and success of the Frys.com Open in the future.”
Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage said Fry’s Electronics submitted an entertainment application with county offices Wednesday. The application requests a permit for high-impact use of the golf site for Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, 2010, Gage said.
The Frys.com Open has been played in Scottsdale, Ariz., the last three years.
Last month, Fry’s spokesman Manuel Valerio said the company, a major sponsor of the PGA Tour, has sought to move its professional golf tournament closer to the company’s San Jose headquarters for the last several years.
CordeValle is an 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., stretching across 7,169 yards of local hillsides, canyons and broad meadows.
A press release on the PGA Tour web site says the tournament will be televised in 220 countries on the Golf Channel. Throughout the four-day tournament, a peak attendance rate of 15,000 spectators on site is expected.
“I think it will be a nice thing for South County,” said Gage, who represents the supervisorial district which contains CordeValle. “The hotels and restaurants will benefit.”
Event organizers will work with planning officials to determine the expected traffic impact and develop traffic control plans, Gage.
As the site is not big enough to accommodate parking for the crowds visiting from out of town, Frys.com officials will likely have to secure a parking site and a way to transport spectators to CordeValle. Gage suggested the tournament could use parking lots surrounding Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy, where the Garlic Festival is held, and transport visitors to the golf course, which is about five miles away, via buses.
Only Frys.com Open players, their caddies, and event staff will be allowed to park on CordeValle property, Gage said.
If approved, the entertainment permit would cover most aspects of the temporary land use at the site, including hospitality, retail and food sales, Gage said. Event organizers will be required to secure a permit from the state to sell alcoholic beverages.
