"Masters without fans delivers huge blow to Augusta economy"

The Augusta Chronicle’s Damon Cline considers the economic impact of a fan-free Masters and some of the numbers are eye-opening.

The tournament historically could be counted on to fill up metro area hotel rooms – currently 7,200 – and rented homes, which exceed 4,000 listings. On the Georgia side of the market, which has the majority of rooms and short-term rentals, visitors pay “tournament-priced” room rates as well as a 6% lodging tax, $1 a night local fee and a $5 a night state fee.

Richmond County, for example, collects an average of $1.4 million in hotel-motel tax revenues from the month of April, which is about three times higher than the average month.

Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO Sue Parr, who oversees the Masters Housing Bureau, the sole Augusta National-sanctioned home-rental service, said she believes homeowners and renters will work out arrangements for refunds or will hold reservations over for the 2021 tournament.

“All of the above are opportunities for the homeowner and the renter to find that win-win,” she said.

One are not addressed: how many are willing to rent their home out in these times?