The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool generated more than £187 million in overall economic benefit for the Wirral and the wider Liverpool City Region, according to an independent study commissioned by The R&A.
The historic Championship had a total economic impact of £43.19 million on the Wirral and the wider Liverpool City Region—new money entering the economy—according to the study conducted by Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC).
The economic impact on Wirral alone was £23.64 million.
Independent research led by YouGov Sport also shows that £144 million of destination marketing benefit was delivered for Liverpool due to The 151st Open being broadcast worldwide through linear television and digital platforms during the week of the Championship.
The total economic benefit delivered in 2023 is a significant uplift from the last time the region hosted The Open.
The benefit to the Wirral increased by 35% compared with 2014, the last time Royal Liverpool hosted the Championship, while the impact on the wider Liverpool City Region grew by 23% compared with 2017 when Royal Birkdale hosted The Open.
The 151st Open attracted 261,180 fans to Hoylake, surpassing the previous attendance 202,917 at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
This made it the second-highest-attended Open Championship in history, behind only the 150th Open in St Andrews in 2022.
Around 18,000 children under the age of 16 attended the Championship under the well-established ‘kids go free’ policy, which has helped attract over 400,000 young fans to The Open free of charge since the policy’s inception in 1997.
The 152nd Open will be played at Royal Troon from 14-21 July 2024.