The economic impact of the 3M Championship Golf Tournament in 2010 was assessed using University of Minnesota’s Economic Impact Analysis (EIA) program.

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Economic Impact of the 3M
Championship Golf Tournament
Project History
The 3M Golf Tournament is held annually at the TPC
Twin Cities golf course in Blaine. The seven-day event
is one of nearly 30 annual stops on professional golf’s
Champions Tour. The event typically draws 100,000
entrants during the week and has 130 corporate
sponsors.
Historically, the City of Blaine has been a sponsor of the
event. The tournament brings a host of benefits for the
city. However, a quantified analysis of the economic
impact of the tournament had not been performed. To
determine the economic impact of the tournament, the
City of Blaine and Twin Cities Gateway, the regional
visitor’s bureau engaged U of M’s Economic Impact
Analysis (EIA) program. The EIA program uses input-
output methodology to help communities make informed
economic decisions. The question posed was “What
was the economic impact of the 3M Championship Golf
Tournament in 2010”?
Direct Impacts
There were three contributors to the direct effect of the
3M Championship in 2010.
Operations: The tournament organizers spent $4.9
million in the local economy to present the tournament.
Visitors: In total, visitors spent $4.9 million in the
regional economy due to the tournament. Visitors
included general attendants, sponsored guests, and
players.
Vendors: Vendors spent an estimated $1.3 million
while participating in the tournament.
In total, direct spending in the Twin Cities attributable to
the 2010 tournament was an estimated $11.1 million.
Total Impacts
After direct effects are measured, an input-output
model, here IMPLAN, measures the ripple effects
created in an economy due to the spending of the direct
effects. These ripples effects (called indirect and
induced) are added to the direct effect to derive the total
effect. Total effect can be measured as employment,
labor income, and output.
The total economic impact of the 3M Golf
Tournament in 2010 was $11.1 million.
To produce this output, 192 full- and part-time jobs
were created in the region.
The 192 workers were paid $7.0 million in labor
income. Labor income is a component of output.
In addition to this impact, corporate sponsors spent
$3 to $6 million on corporate marketing campaigns
that are not included in this analysis.
Partners: City of Blaine and Twin Cities Gateway
Direct Impacts
Indirect
Impacts
Induced
Impacts