Stoney Creek Inn Moline

JDC provides economic boost to QC businesses

Bringing golf’s biggest names to the Quad-Cities each year translates into big bucks for the community, particularly the hospitality industry.

Tourism leaders estimate that the John Deere Classic, which wraps up today at TPC Deere Run, has an economic impact between $20 million and $25 million.  

“That’s what the visitors bring, what the golfers add when they’re here competing and what spectators spend when they’re here,” said Joe Taylor, the president and chief executive officer of the Quad-Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau. 

However, he said those dollars get recirculated and multiplied in the community by the employees who take home paychecks from the area hotels, restaurants, gas stations, attractions and retailers that benefit from the tournament. 

For Carole Coykendall, the general manager at the Moline Residence Inn by Marriott, “it’s been a crazy week, but it’s a fun week.” Located close to John Deere World Headquarters, the hotel was booked solid for the entire week six months ago. 

“It’s neat because we get to meet some of the golfers who are just starting out, but they might be the winners,” said Coykendall, a former volunteer at the John Deere Classic. 

At Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse in downtown Moline, it has been a packed house for dinner with golfers, caddies and others related to the John Deere Classic. “Both hotels are full down here and that creates an influx of customers for us,” Jack Viviani, the managing partner, said of the neighboring Stoney Creek Inn and the Radisson at John Deere Commons. 

“We’ll see all the golfers one day or another. If we get them at the beginning of the week, we’ll keep them all week because this is exactly what they’re looking for,” he said. 

It also is a week he knows to have his best wines available and expect a later dinner hour. “They seem to be very knowledgeable about wines,” he said, adding that the crowd will come at 8 or 9 p.m. — “much later than we’re used to in the Quad-Cities.”

It also is a big week for Johnny’s steaks. “We are the Midwest and we’re known for our steaks and we don’t let them down.” 

While the dollars filter throughout the Quad-Cities, a few hotels on the Iowa side thought the perception of crossing the bridge was keeping their business below their expectations.

“When you’re this far from the tournament, it is just about getting as much business as you can,” said John Snow, the general manager of HomeRidge Inn & Suites, the former Bettendorf Holiday Inn. Earlier in the week, he still had rooms open, but said, “we usually get quite a few people just walking in. It’s not always a guaranteed sellout for us.

WVIK 90.3 FM: WVIK Community Calendar

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra 2nd Fiddle Sale will be held at the former Premier Home Furnishings in the Village Shopping Center in Davenport. Times are 6 to 9 p.m.  on Thursday; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday; and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.  Thursday’s preview sale has an admission price, but is free Friday-Saturday.  Proceeds will go toward the symphony's education programs.  For more information, call 563-322-0931.

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