Awash in sunlight and clad all in black, Phil Mickelson smiled down at the crystalline trophy in his arms, a serene portrait at the end of the 2019 AT&T Pro-Am Golf Tournament.
Eight days earlier, the scene at Pebble Beach Golf Links presented a different picture. While bad weather and California’s Monterey Peninsula aren’t usually congruent terms, a storm hammered the area in the buildup to the tournament, which began in earnest with the first round on February 7.
With practice rounds beginning early in the morning on February 4, tournament organizers understood they had limited time to fix structural damage caused by the storm before the first round. They tasked Arena Americas, along with Stuart Rentals (an Arena Americas Company) with replacing another vendor’s clearspan tent, which had been severely damaged and was non-salvageable.
Arena had already worked with the Monterey Peninsula Foundation to provide clearspan structures, flooring and furniture for the players’ pavilion, hospitality sections, merchandise, concessions, operations and kitchens. Additionally, Arena built level scaffold flooring under each of the structures, including the Vineyard Vines Viewing Deck, which overlooks the 10th Green.
By the day before practice rounds began Arena was confident they could find a solution in the limited time window before the event started, according to Peter Stemmeler, national business development manager for Arena Americas.
“We rallied our troops and determined we could put something up there,” Stemmeler said.
With a presence in the Bay Area as well as the Midwest, Arena mobilized crews and equipment quickly in order to import the design needs for the project. Broken glass, windows and metal had to be replaced and the time constraints proved a worthy test for Arena’s emergency network.
Materials arrived throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday. The new tent was reinforced more than a standard tent would be. By Wednesday, glass walls and doors arrived on trucks from Midwest, enabling the project to be completed that evening.
Stemmeler said the biggest challenge during the duration of the project was working with limited light due to the time of year, but stressed that Arena’s vast arsenal of resources and the commitment of its employees made the whole thing possible.
“The most important people are the ones on the ground,” Stemmeler said. “They make the magic happen. They always make our job easier and make us look good. They deserve all the credit.”
The ability to lend a helping hand following the storm was magnified by all the good the tournament does for the community, Stemmeler said. Arena’s involvement in quickly providing a solution enabled the tournament’s charitable efforts to go off without a hitch.
The Monterey Peninsula Foundation puts on the Pro-Am annually and gives millions of dollars to organizations in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. In the 2017-18 fiscal year, the Foundation donated $13.2 million to local nonprofits in those areas.
Arena Americas is a leader in temporary hospitality spaces and has worked with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, NASCAR, the PGA Tour and the USGA.
