QUESTION: Will University Place Benefit Directly From The 2015 U.S. Open?

The 2012 U.S. Open ended with Webb Simpson hoisting the trophy Sunday at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

But while the American golfer might have clinched the title with an impressive round, one media outlet reports there might have been a bigger winner: the U.S. Open merchandise tent.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the sprawling canopy welcomes thousands of tourists the week of the Open:

For 11 straight days during the U.S. Open, fans parade through its cavernous space and drop more money than you could imagine.

"We'll have over 100,000 transactions over the course of the week," said Mary Lopuszynski, senior director of licensing and merchandising for the USGA.

"Altogether, we'll sell 500,000 items."

That got us at Patch thinking about the 2015 U.S. Open that will be coming to in University Place. It might be hard to imagine now, but that same crush of tourists will converge on University Place three years from now, accompanied with burning cash.

But whether University Place will benefit directly from all those tourists is unclear. While the community is hosting the event, UP doesn't have enough hotels to house even a fraction of the visitors.

They'll be staying in Tacoma, or even more likely Seattle an hour north. It's also unclear whether they'll eat, drink and play in UP. Many fans will shuttle in from outside the community, watch the golf and shuttle back to their hotels.

But one way University Place could benefit directly would be sales at the merchandise tent, food stands or any other U.S. Open-related amenity that could generate sales tax dollars.

- who's also president of the University Place/Fircrest Division of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce - says he thinks the city will benefit.

"My question is what would the City of UP do will all the sales tax revenue from these kind of sales in 2015?" Randy wrote, referring to the San Francisco Chronicle article. "The city will make money off the Open with lifting a finger."

While that's one opinion, we want to hear what others have to say. What do you think? Will University Place see a direct financial benefit from the 2015 U.S. Open via sales and other tax revenue?

Talk about it in the comments section and our Facebook page, which is a good thing to "Like" too.