Golf fans rejoice, concert fans lament - there are big changes coming this year to The Greenbrier Classic.
The PGA Tour event will, for the first time, be free and open to the public, but there will be no concerts at the annual July extravaganza, Greenbrier owner Jim Justice announced.
Justice, the owner of The Greenbrier resort and the Democratic Party's candidate for governor, announced the changes via a news release sent by his political campaign.
In prior years, grounds passes for the week had started at about $80 and included tickets to the concerts that the resort put on in conjunction with the golf tournament.
Last year's Greenbrier Classic Concert Series - Keith Urban and The Band Perry on Wednesday and Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton on Friday - drew an estimated 50,000 people. Previous years' concerts included Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Tim McGraw.
Justice timed his announcement to coincide with the Legislature going back into session to try to pass a state budget.
Justice asked the Legislature to remove the state's $1.75 million sponsorship of the tournament. In prior years, the government used the sponsorship to market the state and used the tournament as grounds to recruit businesses to the state.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has said the state's recruitment of Procter & Gamble, which is building a $500 million manufacturing plant in the Eastern Panhandle, began at The Greenbrier.
"We believe The Greenbrier Classic has been an excellent opportunity to showcase the state to potential investors and visitors," Chelsea Ruby, spokeswoman for the state Deparment of Commerce said. "Several major investments have either started or developed during visits to the tournament. We look forward to seeing if there is a way the state can continue to be involved in an event that brings so many visitors and business prospects to West Virginia."
Justice's campaign said he spends $9 million to $13 million of his own money, annually, to put the tournament on.
"In these tough times, I am doing my part by finding a way to make it all work and promote our state to the world," Justice said in a prepared statement. "Studies show that, for every dollar spent by our State to promote tourism, at least six dollars are returned. I refuse to listen to the Republican leaders beat up on me. Therefore, I am refusing the state's participation."
Tomblin has proposed a 1 percent sales tax increase, the removal of a tax exemption for cellphone bills and an increased tobacco tax to help lower the state's $270 million budget deficit.
Republican leaders, including Justice's opponent, Senate President Bill Cole, prefer further cuts to the state budget, which already has seen several years of across-the-board cuts.
Justice repeatedly has declined to endorse either increased taxes or further cuts to solve the budget impasse.
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.