If past tournaments are any indication, around 190,000 people or more could attend the AT&T Pro-Am between Feb. 1-4. Many need a place to park, but parking is in short supply in Pebble Beach. Years ago the tournament’s organizers, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, looked just 11 miles to the north for a solution, to a place with acres of empty lots, CSU Monterey Bay. The foundation and the university hammered out an agreement: In exchange for one lot during the tournament, CSUMB would receive tournament passes worth thousands of dollars. No cash changes hands.
The passes are used for “donor engagement,” a CSUMB spokesperson says. It’s not known exactly who gets the passes, some of which are for entrance to the exclusive Palmer Club EIGHTEEN at the Pebble Beach Golf Links, named for famed golfer Arnold Palmer and located within view of the 18th hole, where the top golfers of the world will finish their rounds.
Last year, per the agreement, the university received 20 tickets to the Palmer Club, along with seven parking passes to park in Pebble Beach. CSUMB also received 36 tournament general admission tickets. The Palmer Club tickets and parking passes were valued at $22,000, according to a CSUMB spokesperson; the general admission tickets had an approximate value of $3,300.
When asked who receives the passes, the only answer given was that they are used for donor engagement, presumably meaning entertaining donors or prospective donors.
MPF uses the lot to provide free parking and shuttles to spectators and tournament volunteers. According to the 2023 contract (obtained by the Weekly via a California Public Records Act request) MPF was allowed an office trailer, rented light towers, fenders and barricades, portable restrooms and signage in the weeks leading up to the tournament and removed within several days of the tournament’s end.
There is a cost to the university for CSUMB Police and other staff to assist with traffic enforcement and perform other duties around opening the lot, about $8,000 per event. The university had no breakdown of possible maintenance expenses of the lot itself.
In addition to the tournament passes, CSUMB was listed as a partner during the tournament, similar to major sponsors. It meant CSUMB could distribute information about itself in parking lots and other designated areas, as well as provide a promotional video to be shown on shuttle buses.
(1) comment
That appears to be $25,300 in income, minus $8,000 in costs, for a net of $17,300 for the lease of that area, per year. That's not a large amount for such a large amount of land, but better than what they were getting before (nothing). I presume the contract would be terminable at will, and renewed on an annual basis, for when better uses become available.
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