cket prices reflect the public appeal of the PGA Tour. PGA Tour revenue generation, however, does not depend directly on tournament ticket sales because local tournament sponsors must (by contract with the PGA Tour) guarantee payment to the PGA Tour of an amount equal to one-half of the value of the tournament prize money. Ticket sales generate most of this revenue. If ticket sales and other revenue sources do not generate the guaranteed amount, local sponsors make up the difference (Yasuda, 1998).
The public appeal of the PGA Tour determines both the demand for tournament tickets and the level of ticket prices that the market will bear. The ability of local sponsors to recoup their expenses (including the guaranteed payment to the PGA Tour) determines in large part their willingness to sponsor a tournament. In some instances, however, corporate and civic sponsors are willing to sustain some degree of financial loss on tournament sponsorship to gain the prestige value of sponsoring or hosting a PGA Tour tournament.
PGA Tour revenue from on-site attendance at PGA Tour tournaments, therefore, is a function of the value of the prize money awarded at tournaments (as indicated above, the PG
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