Astros owner Jim Crane is trying to find a sponsor for the Houston Open.
Astros owner cites altruistic motives to keep tourney, but HGA ties might be marginalized
Astros owner Jim Crane admits he’s now front and center in efforts to secure a sound financial future for the Houston Open golf tournament, which was played this spring without a title sponsor — Shell pulled out in 2017 following a 26-year run — and faces the prospect of being dropped from the PGA Tour calendar if it can’t find major backing soon.
Multiple sources, all requesting anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, have told the Chronicle that the PGA Tour has given Houston until early to mid-June to pull together a viable sponsorship package that figures to cost at least $12 million annually, much of that going toward ad buys during the NBC telecasts.
Crane wouldn’t confirm the deadline, saying only that it’s in all parties’ best interests “that something gets resolved soon … July at the latest.”
Going it alone?
The PGA Tour has been holding off announcing its revamped 2019 schedule in large part because of a couple of sponsorship uncertainties. The next Houston Open would be held in either mid-May, possibly as a lead-in to the PGA Championship that’s moving to late spring from its traditional August dates, or June 6-9 prior to the U.S. Open.
Crane also declined to say definitively whether he would go forward on his own, branding the tournament with the name of one of the companies he controls, or in concert with the Houston Golf Association. The HGA has operated the tournament since both were founded in 1946. He said his full-throttle commitment requires that he “calls the shots … I know a lot of people. I think I can raise money.”
A self-made billionaire from the St. Louis area who founded his first Houston company in 1984 with a $10,000 loan, Crane is the chief executive of Crane Capital Group. He’s also the majority shareholder of Champion Energy, Crane Worldwide Logistics and Crane Freight & Shipping. He has owned The Floridian golf club in Palm Bay, Fla, since 2011, buying it the same day Major League Baseball approved his purchase of the Astros.
Although the HGA initially sought him out as a possible title sponsor, Crane said he remains involved in discussions “only because a deal hasn’t gotten done.” The nature of his shipping companies, charged with industrial components globally, make them unlikely to benefit much from expensive exposure on television.
“This is a big golf town and the tournament is important to Houston,” he said. “It’s been here a long time. It would be bad for the town and bad for golf if we lost it. My only interest is in helping save the tournament.”
The HGA has long funded multiple charities with revenues from the Houston Open. Crane suggested the Astros Foundation would become the primary beneficiary if he takes control. But he also sits on the board of the First Tee Foundation, an expansive life-skills-through-golf program for at-risk area children that the HGA has endowed at a significant level, believed to be in the neighborhood of $1 million annually.
‘I have no agenda’
Those with ties to the HGA, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, think Crane is working against the organization’s efforts to secure a sponsorship in order to take control of the tournament for personal gain or reasons of ego.
“I have no agenda except to keep raising money for charity,” Crane said. “I’m not going to personally make a nickel. The only thing we’d use (profits) for is the foundation.”
Steve Timms, president/CEO of the HGA and Houston Open’s tournament director, wouldn’t comment on Crane’s potential involvement. But he did say, “The HGA welcomes anyone’s efforts to help (secure sponsorship) and help us keep doing all the things we do through golf in the community.”
While Crane doesn’t have any formal ties to the PGA Tour, The Floridian’s course has become a popular destination for a number of Florida-based pros. Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson are regular visitors and have become his personal friends. Also, Crane recently played a round there with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
“The PGA has been very supportive. There’s been no pushback,” Crane said. “And I just talked to the president of NBC (which broadcasts the tournament). He loves the Houston Open. He wants to help keep it here.”
The tournament has been at the Golf Club of Houston, located in the master-planned community of Fallbrook near the intersection of the Eastex Freeway and Sam Houston Parkway, since 2003. But the course’s owner, Escalante Golf Inc., announced last week it was no longer interested in hosting. Crane said he strongly supports Houston mayor Sylvester Turner’s efforts to return the Houston Open to Houston proper, specifically the city-owned course in Memorial Park where it was held in 1947 and from 1951-63.
Memorial Park ‘doable’
The modern track, which received a major facelift in the mid-1990s, is a little shorter than the Golf Club of Houston’s Tournament Course — 7,164 yards to just under 7,500 yards — but the facilities and amenities would need significant upgrades to bring Memorial Park up to PGA Tour standards.
“It’s going to take some work and some time, but I think it’s doable,” Crane said, citing his Floridian course as an example. “Personally, I’ve renovated a golf course that was average and got it to where it’s world class. If you get the right people involved, it can be done. You’ve got the space there, enough land. And you can get (fans) in and out.”
Crane also mentioned the Kinder Foundation’s recent pledge of $70 million to help fast-track a major restoration of Memorial Park in its entirety. Because of the huge donation, the largest grant ever to a local park, a revised timetable will be announced by the city soon. The original estimate to complete the work was 10 years.
“I’ve seen the plan,” he said. “I think it’s fabulous. (Holding the tournament there) would be just another feather in the cap for the city of Houston.”