Golf might be the premiere sports event in town this weekend, but it’s far from alone.

The city will be engulfed in a sea of sporting events with the Lawrence Futures Classic golf tournament, basketball’s Sport2Sport Jayhawk Invitational, Kansas University baseball and the Sunflower League’s swimming championship.

All those events are bringing so many athletes and fans to town that local hotels are bursting at the seams.

“I would imagine we’ve turned away at least 25 to 30 people wanting rooms,” Best Western Hotel general manager Kate Kelly said Thursday.

The events mean an economic boon for Lawrence. But the magnitude is difficult to say at this time, said Judy Billings, executive director of the Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“We know it’s going to be a great weekend though,” she said.

The LPGA Futures Tour has brought 144 golfers to Lawrence and is attracting the most attention.

This is the first time for Lawrence to host the Futures golf tour. Billings said she won’t know how much of an impact the tour had on the community until next week.

But the tour typically brings in $300,000 to $500,000 for a community, said Tracy Kerdyk, vice president of business development for the Futures Tour.

Futures Tour players Lisa Fernandes, front, and Salimah Mussani practice at Eagle Bend Thursday. Tournament play begins today and ends Sunday.

“We have the players and some of them come with families, coaches and caddies,” she said. “And they are going to spend money on anything from eating food to shopping to buying gas. They’ll go to the movies. They are here for a week.”

The tour meant an economic impact of about $300,000 for McAllen, Texas, which held the inaugural Jalapeno Futures Golf Classic in late April.

About 2,000 people attended the weeklong event, said Christine Treanor, assistant tournament director for the McAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“I personally was surprised with the turnout we had,” she said. “We had 350 people watching the final group play on the Sunday of the tournament. We were hoping for at least 200 people. So we were pleasantly surprised.”

A portion of the economic benefit is the fee the LPGA Futures Tour pays to use a golf course. The organization paid $15,000 to use Eagle Bend, said city parks and recreation department director Fred DeVictor.

But DeVictor said there are more benefits to hosting the event than just economics.

A pair of canada geese and their goslings cross the fairway at Eagle Bend Golf Course during the Futures Tour Pro-Am Thursday. Tournament play for the LPGA developmental players begins today and ends Sunday.

“It’s probably the most prestigious event the course has ever hosted,” he said. “It’s providing us some great exposure and we are getting some great comments about the course from the golfers. Some of the girls said it’s the nicest course they’ve played on.”

Additionally, money made at the tournament will be donated to the Junior Achievement of Lawrence, which educates children about business and economics.

“We’re hoping a lot of people come out and watch because they aren’t only supporting a great event,” said Jim Kane, the golf pro at Eagle Bend. “They’ll be helping out local charities. There’s just a lot of opportunity for this event to have a positive impact.”

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