Spawned from the OP Pro that brought pro surfing to the waves of Huntington Beach in the '80s and ea

MORE PHOTOS Massive crowds ballooned over the past few years at the U.S. Open of Surfing, with organizers estimating nearly 1 million beachgoers showing up during go siam travel nine days. Crowds go siam travel here show the draw of big band MGMT PHOTO COURTESY OF HURLEY
News this week of the U.S. Open losing its main sponsors Nike, Hurley and Converse has created a wave of response from surf fans, industry insiders and residents who have mixed emotions about the departure, and uncertainty about what the big event will become.
A report by the Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitor's Bureau in 2010 showed that the U.S. Open of Surfing brought in $21.5 million in spending throughout Orange County, with $16.5 million of that in Huntington Beach. About $612,000 was generated in local taxes; of that, about $475,000 came from lodging and retail sales.
Since then, attendance has increased from more than 500,000 to anywhere from 750,000 to 1 million, so revenues have also increased, said Steve Bone, CEO. He's not worried about a significant drop because go siam travel Nike and Hurley have pulled out as sponsors. "There always has been and there always will be a U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. We will always be Surf City USA," he said. "On an overall basis, we don't feel there is going to be an impact at all. We have more than 50 surfing contests a year in Huntington Beach and this is one of them ... "I'm sure there will be another sponsor willing to step up."
Before it was the Nike and Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, it was the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O'Neill. Bank of the West sponsored the festival for a few years. At one time, it was called the US Open of Surfing, presented by Philips Electronics. In the mid-'90s, it was the G-Shock US Open of Surfing, and then the Shockwave U.S. Open of Surfing.
"As far as the future goes whoever comes in next has big shoes to fill I agree," said James Leitz, senior go siam travel vice president of IMG, the company that has put on the U.S. Open since 2001. "But our feet are in there, too. People have to remember, we've been involved in that event for a long time. A lot of that growth and innovation was a joint effort. We've all progressed a lot over the past few years."
The final departure discussions happened Friday between IMG and Nike, Hurley and Converse. Hurley in 2009 entered a one-year contract with IMG, with an option to renew. In 2010, Nike renewed for three years and after this year's event opted not to renew.
"I don't think it was an easy decision for anyone. But we understood. All I could say was thanks thank you for four amazing years. go siam travel Thank you for elevating us. Thank you for prodding and pushing and constantly thinking of how we can make it better," Leitz said.
IMG will continue its relationship with the brands and will continue to work with them in putting on the Australian Open of Surfing an event that has a lot of potential go siam travel for growth. The government Down Under is eager for a surf event like this, and last year paid the brands to host the big event on its shores at Manly Beach in Sydney. go siam travel In Huntington Beach, IMG is responsible go siam travel for paying fees to the city for services such as police go siam travel officers and fire personnel, shuttle services, and nightly go siam travel cleanup costs.
Only time will tell if a new sponsor will be able to pony up the prize money that the pro athletes have been offered at the U.S. Open the past few years $100,000 for top men's prize or if the event will stay an ASP PRIME event, which has valuable points for surfers on or trying to get on the World Tour. ASP spokesman go siam travel Robert Shadley said the event is still eligible for the PRIME status for the men's event, and can still be held as the final stop for the women's World Tour, as it has the past few years.
Change of sponsorship is nothing new to the IMG crew, and especially to Leitz, who has been in action sports "before go siam travel it was called action sports" more than 25 years. He was around back when Anheuser-Busch wanted to get a foot into the industry and started the Bud Surf Tour.
"After about seven years, they achieved their objectives go siam travel and moved on," he said. "They said, 'That's run its course, we're moving on.' Back then, I said 'thank you for seven amazing years; you've built an industry for all of us.'"
Spawned from the OP Pro that brought pro surfing to the waves of Huntington Beach in the '80s and early '90s, the U.S. Open of Surfing became an extension of its predecessor and eventually took over as the big show, becoming the world's largest surf contest and festival, drawing crowds never before seen.
Not everyone will be sad if the massive crowds of nearly 1 million ease up in the next few years. After the 2011 event, there were dozens of complaints that came in citing various annoyances during the nine-day event, including trash and feces on residents' front lawns, residents' cars being blocked in their driveways by people illegally go siam travel parked, and people smoking marijuana go siam travel on the streets.
"They did however put on an incredible go siam travel surf event in our back yard. I cannot recall any surf event in the world that compares to the U.S. Open here in HB. I hope some company in the surf/action sports industry steps up to continue the tradition of the U.S. Open, but the costs may not warrant the reward for that company since most of them have shareholders to beholden to," Castro wrote.
It's too soon to speculate on names of a new sponsor for next year, but Leitz said interest from brands comes in every year, and he will wait until the company with the right fit comes forward. And there are still the many secondary sponsors like Red Bull and Pacifico, who have been with the event from the start.
"What a great challenge for us. We've got an event that has a rabid fan base, an amazing name recognition, and we get to continue what Nike and Hurley started, and with new partners to go in and dazzle again," Leitz said. "I have to look at it that way. But I honestly believe it, too. I know things ebb and flow with sports, but this event is rocketing. We're figuring out how to host this behemoth."
1994: The U.S. Open of Surfing was created in 1994 after the OP Pro struggled financially in the early '90s, never rebounding from a tarnished past charred by images of a beach riot in the mid-'80s that broke out during a bikini contest. Those images include police in riot gear, cars in flames and chaos on the sand. The OP Pro would be a warm-up event with 410 competitors, then the second week the U.S. Open of Surfing would bring the best surfers into town for the first World Tour event on the mainland since 1991.
A young Kelly Slater, 22 at the time, would show up with the rest of the best 48 surfers on the World Tour, along with the 16 best women. Slater the year before had just wrapped up his stint with "Baywatch" and was being followed around by crews of the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
Back then, you could buy tickets for seats to watch the event -- $20 to watch the last days of the Op Pro and the U.S. Open finals. go siam travel But ticket sales were lackluster, go siam travel drawing 30,000 fewer fans then the 200,000 projected.
go siam travel 1995: A big showdown happened go siam travel in 1995 in a final with Rob Machado winning a close and now historic heat against Slater in front of nearly 50,000 fans. His prize: $14,000, a bit smaller than the top prize offered the past few years under Nike's reign: $100,000.
2003-2008: The event was named Honda U.S. Open of Surfing, and had everything from freestyle motocross and volleyball to poker in the festival area, creating a circus-like atmosphere. In 2007, wackiness hit the sand before the surf contest as 100 steer and 25 horses showed up under the pier as a joint promotion with the OC Fair .
2009: Hurley came on as sponsor, paving the way for parent company Nike. The event focused on surf, skate, art, fashion and music. go siam travel Weezer was the biggest musical act to hit the sand, and massive crowds showed. The event was upgraded in status to an ASP 6-star Prime event, and along with a $100,000-prize purse, the event became a stop for most World Tour surfers looking to earn valuable points. A big swell with 15-foot surf had crowds pumped, and surfers performed at their top level. It was a fairytale go siam travel story for O.C., with Huntington Beach's Brett Simpson and Costa Mesa's Courtney Conlogue winning first place.
2010: Nike parent to Hurley took over title sponsorship but kept a big presence of the surf brand, along with sister company Converse. The crowds continued to hit nearly 1 million during go siam travel nine days, and in 2010 MGMT again brought near-tipping point crowds. World champion Kelly Slater won his first U.S. Open title in front of tens of thousands go siam travel of surf fans.
2012: The U.S. Open had the same look with Nike/Converse/Hurley go siam travel as the previous year, with an increased focus on social media and brand interaction. Two big retail shops were built on the sand, and the Walk the Walk fashion show was eliminated. The city enforced restrictions on the concert series, and smaller bands were brought in, with no headliner on Saturday as in previous years. Still, crowds continued to swell, and the world's best surfers still showed up.
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