Tourney draws increased media attention
The bar is not the only thing being raised at the PGA Tour’s 84 Lumber Classic at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa as the number of media credential requests are starting to exceed the capacity of the 6,800-square-foot ballroom used for the event. With the number of live radio and television broadcast credential applications expected to exceed 40, Jeff Nobers, the tournament’s media director, said this year has been by far the busiest since the tournament’s inception in 2003, when it was covered solely by ESPN.
“We’re trying to accommodate (media) as much as possible, but the requests are now outstripping our ability to completely accommodate the growing demands,” said Nobers.
The media are housed in two large meeting rooms of Horizon Point at Falling Rock, a 3,640-square-foot meeting venue equipped with electrical and Internet outlets built into the floor.
Nobers said one room will serve as a working pressroom while the other will function as an interview room where the media can interview certain players seated on stage.
Horizon Point was constructed last year with temporary fixtures installed shortly before the tournament so it could serve as a media center.
Verizon, one of the tournament’s sponsors, is providing a microwave transmission truck and fiber optic lines that travel into Pittsburgh, making live broadcasting for the event even more media-friendly.
Nobers added the microwave transmission enables television studios to plug their equipment directly into the truck as opposed to having to rely on satellite trucks in past PGA events that didn’t provide as good of reception from the mountain.
“This is something (the media) has latched onto and appreciate,” added Nobers.
Because of the added technology, Nobers said the tournament is receiving media coverage from San Francisco, Calif., Philadelphia, Cleveland, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., as well as that of the major golf magazines and television stations in Pittsburgh, Altoona, Johnstown and West Virginia.
When the tournament began accepting credential applications in July Nobers said he took an overall look at the seating configuration and the equipment that media would be using to determine the room’s capacity.
“When I sat down and did a preliminary seating chart based on the maximum number of seats requested I saw that I needed to add another four and now know it went beyond that,” said Nobers.
“It’s a different seating configuration (in Horizon Point) than the normal 200 or 300 because the equipment takes up more room,” said Nobers.
“This year it was harder to accommodate…but, if there’s one thing we are, it’s adaptable,” said Nobers.
Adaptable, said Nobers, in the sense that the number of media seats was assigned according to need.
“The stature and making of the event was relatively built with the media and how it has grown in terms of the player field is drawing more interest,” Nobers added.