U.S. Open Tennis Beats the Recession, Thanks to the Rich

(MoneyWatch)  The U.S. Open tennis tournament has escaped the Great Recession's wrath, while almost all other professional sports leagues and events have suffered. And it owes the wealthy a debt of gratitude.

The Open will generate more than $200 million in revenue for the third year in a row. And attendance for the two-week event, which ends Sunday, should approach last year's record of 721,059.

Meanwhile, even the nation's most popular spectator sport, NFL football, is under some duress. Season ticket sales dropped 1-2 percent for this year, the third straight decline. And Forbes estimates the combined value of NFL teams slid 2 percent last year, the first dip in the 12 years of its survey.

Ironically, the recession has actually helped the U.S. Open in terms of sponsorships. Gross sponsorship revenue rose 6 percent this year to a record of $60 million. Even corporate entertaining, which has been slashed in many areas thanks to the recession, continues to blossom at the Open. A record 157 companies bought a hospitality package this year.

Companies have reduced their sports sponsorships overall, paring down to those that the deliver the most bang for their buck. And the U.S. Open, like the Super Bowl and Olympics, is one of those events.

The fact that about half of tennis fans are women -- compared to about 35 percent for football -- helps. Even more important is the fact that tennis spectators are wealthier than those at most other sports. According to the U.S. Tennis Association, which owns and operates the Open, the median income of the tournament's attendees is $150,000.

Given the fact that the bulk of the Open's revenue comes from the rich, any analysis of the event's finances inevitably leads to an analysis of the wealthy's spending habits. As ESPN tennis commentator Pam Shriver, who has several sports business interests herself, put it to Newsweek.com, for the merely rich, "a day of tennis isn't like going to Europe or buying a new car." And for the ultra rich, while buying a plane or yacht may feel excessive now, "tennis is more comfortable."

As of Thursday, tickets to the women's final were available starting at $120. That's not going to break the bank for someone making $150,000 a year. Similarly for blue-chip companies like Mercedes-Benz, the Open's automobile sponsor, the event probably represents as good an investment of a few million dollars as any.

The rich truly are different from you and me. They guarantee a healthy U.S. Open.