Ginn Sponsors PGA Fall Tour and Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show on Same Weekend
It will likely be a long time before any real estate developer markets so lavishly again.
Palm Coast, Florida – October 30, 2008 – Never again!! Or should that be never aGINN. This weekend, Bobby Ginn’s real estate development and hospitality company sponsors two major events. The PGA Fall Tour Gin sur Mer Classic starts today in Palm Coast, FL and runs through Sunday. Ginn sur Mer is also the title sponsor of the 49th Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show. Yet, sales activities at Ginn sur Mer have been temporarily suspended.
Ginn sur Mer is Bobby’s big ($4 billion plus) project at West End, Grand Bahama Island. Sales activities are suspended awaiting the outcome of negotiations between Ginn and Credit Suisse. Ginn defaulted on a $675 million Credit Suisse credit facility July 30th.
Sponsoring major events is very expensive. It’s rumored that the boat show title sponsorship goes for about $1 million. Those close to professional golf tell me that a tournament sponsor’s contribution usually equals the total purse. The Ginn sur Mer Classic sports a purse of $4.6 million. The weekend is reminiscent of the better days in the GINNdom, when lavish marketing programs were rewarded with successful project launches, some resulting in sales of hundreds of millions of dollars in one day. Those were also the days of the Ginn Blimp, now owned by Direct TV. But now real estate sales are way off. WCI Communities and Levitt & Sons have been forced into bankruptcy. Strapped by the ongoing costs of maintaining amenity rich resort communities, developers are forced to bow to the altar of cash flow. Event sponsor commitments are made months or years in advance. Without advanced commitments, it’s unlikely that Ginn would be hosting either event this week. He has already pulled out of the LPGA Tour event he has sponsored annually in Charleston, SC.
Palm Coast, a still undiscovered gem on Florida’s northeast coast between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine, is fortunate to boast of two professional golf tournaments this year; this week’s Ginn sur Mer Classic and the Ginn Championship, a PGA Champion’s Tour event in the spring. "How many times can a city our size boast of having two PGA tournaments in one year?" we boast. Maybe just this once. And what will become of the Ginn sur Mer Classic. This is the second year of a five-year commitment with plans for the tournament to land eventually in The Bahamas, at Ginn sur Mer. Last year, it was held at Tesoro, a Ginn community in Port St. Lucie. Tesoro, like Ginn sur Mer, is under the Credit Suisse cloud. Its sales office is currently closed.
Sponsorship, Smonsorship
I’ve worked at the Ft Lauderdale boat show a number of years, and the sponsorship by Ginn was a complete waste of money. He got VERY little bang for his buck. In fact, the majority of people I spoke with only went by his booth to snag a cut-rate mini-vacation to the Bahamas on Bobby’s private jet. Most everyone at the show knows the West End’s history and it is nuclear waste. Developer after developer has gone down in flames over there and people were just wondering how long it would take for the island to become Bobby’s undoing.
Only One Boast allowed each Century (-:
Toby, GREAT! Palm Coast really needs a Boast right now, but remember, only one Boast allowed each Century.
Last Centurys’ Boast:
1974
The third annual Palm Coast Tournament of Champions golf tournament. Played under sunny skies, the Palm Coast tournament was the final event on the Florida PGA Winter Tour. This was the first year of professional golf competition in Palm Coast. It was called the Palm Coast Open.
1975, 1976, 1978
The Palm Coast Open became the Tournament of Champions. The Tournament of Champions has grown each year with an increasing numnber of golfers and spectators coming to Palm Coast. More than 140 professionals, including seven from Canada, arrived for the weekend tournament. Professionals and amateur golfers teamed up for the Pro-Am competion on Friday before the Tournmament of Champions, with the winnners taking a share of the more than $ 2,500 in prize money on that day.
The YMCA: this marks the first time inthe YM:CA’s more than 130 years of operation that it has opened a YMCA in a developing community.
Atypically Y’s only open in a community of 50,000. ( Our donated Community Activities Building with real reasonable day care too!)
Palm Coasts’ Spring Festival: the first Palm Coast International Bathtub Boat Race was held with racers coming from as far away as British Columbia; the first Great Palm Coast Bicycle Race which started at the Yacht Club bridge and ran for six miles.
A Hole in one tournament , a driving contest, and a scramble tournament with about two hundred golfers taking part. Following the Gulliksons’ match week long tennis tournament began for local tennis buffs.
1978
We are happy that golf sensation Nancy Lopez has chosen Palm Coast as here official place of residence, and is the touring pro for Palm Coast Golf Club. As we approach the 3,000 population mark in this water-oriented community, we have become the "home-Port" for Nancy’s Navy.
Arnie’s Army likewise had an enthusiastic showing here as Arnold Palmer played our golf course after signing a contract to design Palm Coast’s second golf course which will be completed by December 32, 1980.
1979
Tournaments were much in evidence last year. First, The Nancy Lopez Pro-Am was held in February, followed by the Florida PGA Tournament of Champions . In June, The Colgate/PalmCoast World Mixed Team Championship was won be Lee Trevino and Nancy Lopez. The Michelob Light/Palm Coast Pro-Am Tennis Championships were played at our tennis complex. Out Touring pro Tom Gullikson, who is building a new home in Palm Coast played an exciting exhibition match with another outstanding pro Marty Riesssen
Sepaking of golf, Nancy Lopez has continued to represent Palm Coast well by leading the LPGA in wins. Nancy will also purchase one of the new Fairways Condominiums nearing completion , along the 17th Fairway
1981
In sports, Roscoe Tanner and Brian Gottfried battled Palm Coast resident touring pro Tom Gullikson in tennis exhibition matches this year, and Palm Harbor and Pine Lakes golf courses hosted the North Florida PGA’s sectional championship and Tournament of Champions. Our LPGA touring pro, Nancy Lopex-Melton, after tuning up her game in Palm Coast last winter, had a fine year on the tour and will continue to represent Palm Coast on the LPGA circuit.
1983
The Oktoberfest 5K Run: 1,5000 runners started the Oktoberfest 5K run, now the second largest race in the region.
The Palm Coast Triahlon: More than 400 triahletes took up the Palm Coast Swim Team on its offer to run 3.1 miles, cycle 6.2 miles, and swim 300 meters at the First Palm Coast Triahlon.
The Palm Coast Blood Feud and Celebrity tennis Match: A bit of sibling rivalry provided the intensity, and two of the entertainment world’s stars provided the fun at thie October 8 Event at the International Festival. Trini Lopez, Palm Coasts touring Pro Tom Gullikson’s doubles partner, clowned with the crowd, but Richard Anderson, Oscar Goldman on The Six Million Dollar Man, had the last laugh, winning the match with partner Tim Gullilkson. Tom and Tim finished in a 5-5 tie.
Count Basie: The Count Basie Orchestra came to Palm Coast with a a Sellout Festival Park Crowd, Count Basie and his band with bassist Cleveland Eaton with the Count on Keyboards, on February 5.
The London String Quinted: Five of the London
Symphony Orchestra’s own provided a special afternoon and evening for Palm Coast Residents on October 7.
The United States Marine Band at the Palm Coast Festival Park on October 19. the "president’s Own" band brought Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stravinsky and their own special matches to one of the years most popular Events.
Veterans Day Parade: The Veterans Day Parade went down Palm Coast Parkway, and included a military tribute by impresonator John Wain, precision marching from university ROTC drill teams and music from the Daytona beach Jazz Band.
Cheryl Prewitt Blackwood, Miss America 1980 gave a large Festival Park audience on December 10 , a concerrt of contemporary and traditional gospel music.
The Boat Show: for the firth year, the Palm Coast Marina invited North Florida boat dealers to show off their goods to the Festival Crowd.
The Fifth Palm Coast International Festival drew —->10,000 <—–visitors in October.
1987
The Palm Coast Players Club: November: longtime Palm Coast Touring Pro Tom Gullikson, Stan Smith, Manuela Maleeva and Lisa Bonder played before a sellout crowd. Swedish Star Mikael Pernfors – 10th int he world – came here to practice on grass with Gully in December. World Tennis magazine featured the Plers Club as a Grand Clam Resort last Fall. Tennis Industry magazine named it the best new courts in the country for 1987.
ESPN’s ‘Getting Fit with Denise Austin’ filmed at ‘The Harbor Club – Resort Condominiums International RCI gave The Harbor Club at Palm Coast its highest honor, a "Resort of International Distinction".
’nuff for now, our fingers are getting tired. We hope this adds some more brightness, to Tobys’ Boast, for our Fellow Palm Coasters; also hopefully helpful to Realtors when promoting P.C. properties to Prospective Buyers!
As an aside, the Bath Tub Boat Races up the Canal and Intracoastal Great Palm Coast Bicycle Races drew massive crowds and were a Hoot!…we wish someone would resurrect them – European Village perhaps?
Happy All-Hallows-Eve everyone!
George Edward Chuddy
chuddy@bestnetpc.com
https://palmcoastcorehomes.tripod.com
Disregard previous post
I read JTW’s again, and i retract mine based upon further reading his. Please do not post either of these.
Thanks ins advance.
We Have a Winner
JTW, your brilliance shines brightly my friend. Your hindsight bias parallels that of Terry Bradshaw after the big game. If you are so dialed in to "your friends" and what their intentions were in booking trips to the Bahamas under the pretense of sincerity, then I encourage you to choose better friends, i. e. honest ones. Where were all of the geniuses that now post on the Ginn News Posts when Bobby was donating money left and right to charities all over the Southeast, particularly Palm Coast. Since you are touting your wisdom and travels ("i attended the Ft Lauderdale boat show several years ago" – – wow, Ft. Lauderdale? quite the world traveler you are), please tell Toby’s readers when we can expect your friends to show up at our businesses to waste our time, money, and resources. WHAT POSERS!!!!!!!
JTW
JTW, are you truly basing your statement on a few random conversations you had while working at the boat show? The first two years of sponsorship served to widely grow awareness and the branding of Ginn sur Mer and resulted in many sales.