05/16/2008

Associated Press

The United States Golf Association will pay Pierce County $2.5 million to lease Chambers Bay Golf Course for the 2015 U.S. Open.

A draft contract for the tournament shows the county also will get a share of food, beverage and merchandise sales.

Pierce County will have to spend to modify the course that opened last June and make other preparations for the tournament. The county council is scheduled to vote June 3 on the contract.

County Executive John Ladenburg says the county may lose money on the tournament. But county officials expect it could draw more than 60,000 people and fill 10,000 hotel rooms.

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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com