Preparations Underway for U.S. Open in San Diego

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published January 14, 2008 at 1:51 PM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

San Diego City Council accepted a report on preparations for the U.S Open to be held at Torrey Pines Golf Course in June. The Golfing Championship promises to be as big a sporting event for San Diego

San Diego City Council accepted a report on preparations for the U.S Open to be held at Torrey Pines Golf Course in June. The Golfing Championship promises to be as big a sporting event for San Diego as the Super Bowl. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Torrey Pines is the first city-owned golf course to host the U.S. Open in the event's 108 year history. Event organizer, Mike Antolini says more than 2,000 reporters from 150 countries will cover the event. He says it will put San Diego in the spotlight internationally.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Antolini: We really think this is going to be a “destination open,” and people who come whether they are spectators, vendors, volunteers, they are going to come to the US Open but they're going to come back because they see how great San Diego is.

About 50,000 people are expected to attend the U.S Open each day, and it is a seven day event. That's compared to 80,000 who attend the one-day of the Super Bowl.

The Del Mar Fair will start late to avoid compounding traffic problems caused by the Golf Tournament. Parking will be at Qualcomm Stadium, and 200 shuttle buses will run continuously from the Stadium to Torrey Pines. Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

twitter

Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.