The Register Herald - Mud Won't Stop Greenbrier Classic Success

Op-Ed

By Jim Justice

Earlier this week, I told the governor and the legislature to please remove the $1.75 million sponsorship for The Greenbrier Classic from the state budget. Bill Cole and GOP leaders want to keep playing politics and attack me for bringing the PGA Tour to West Virginia. That's fine -- they can keep the money.

Cole and his crowd wanted to turn one of our very best economic/PR development tools into a political football, and I won't let that happen. Getting into this race, I knew that arrows from the politicians would come my way, but I never imagined that Bill Cole would be so reckless and try to use his power to undermine one of our best tourism attractions. I refused to let that happen, and so I don't want any money in the state budget for the tournament.

I love our state, and it's always been a dream of mine to help repair the image of West Virginia. That's why I wanted to bring the PGA Tour to our home state. The Greenbrier Classic is an economic driver; it helped bring Procter & Gamble and 700 new jobs to West Virginia. The economic impact of the tournament is over $111 million, but really, having the event air in 226 countries and having 21 million people see the spectacular beauty of West Virginia is priceless.

There's nothing that comes close to giving us this much positive publicity, so I'm doing what it takes to make this happen.

The sad part is that Bill Cole and his friends would rather play politics than reel in the next Procter & Gamble. I want greatness for our state, and I won't let do-nothing politicians stand in my way as the owner of The Greenbrier or as your governor.

Everyone knows that this event is an economic boon for the state. West Virginia makes back half of its investment in sales tax just from the concerts alone. Bill Cole is turning his back on a sound business move for our state in order to throw mud. He isn't interested in doing what's best for our state, just what he thinks is best for his political career. Our state is just too good for politics as usual; we have to sell ourselves and promote tourism.

Each year, I spend between $9 million and $13 million out of my own pocket to pull off The Greenbrier Classic. It's an investment in our state that I am proud of. It's more than West Virginia spends statewide on tourism advertising, and certainly more than what Bill Cole's done to bring jobs here and promote West Virginia. I am doing my part, but where are Bill Cole and his friends in the legislature?

Frankly, their lack of support is one of the reasons there are no concerts this year. I can't do it all. Pulling the rope by yourself is no fun, and I sure didn't want them to inject politics into the event.

As a way to give back, I want all tickets to the golf tournament to be free. I hope folks come from both of the Virginias to watch a world-class golf event, and I want tourists coming from all over the place to learn how great West Virginia is. To me, it's a promotion of thanks, a promotion of help, a promotion of welcome, and a promotion of the game of golf. Times are tough, and I wanted all families to have the chance to come and experience The Greenbrier.

This is one of the few PGA Fed-Ex Cup tournaments that has ever been free and open to the public. Anyone who has already purchased a tournament badge will be completely refunded or be upgraded free of charge.

If you want to know why our state is 50th in everything, look no further than the political circus being run by Bill Cole in the legislature. This crowd is so desperate to score political points that they're actually willing to hurt our state and our people. Cole can't pass a budget, but he can sling mud at an amazing event that brings jobs and tourism to West Virginia.

Right now, I'm building a $1 billion mountain complex with housing, skiing, and a championship golf course to bring the U.S. Open to West Virginia. It's history in the making, something that has never been done before -- a golf course designed by Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus, all in our great state. I wonder how Bill Cole will find a way to throw mud at this?

I hope to see you in July at The Greenbrier Classic.

-- Jim Justice is owner of The Greenbrier resort and Democratic candidate for governor.

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