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There may be nothing better than being a part of an event that showcases a company’s expertise and benefits children at the same time. For the third year in a row, National Structures Events & Services of San Antonio, Texas, did just that. The tent and event company erected structures for the annual Shriners Children’s Open in October 2023 to benefit children needing care for orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate—regardless of the families’ ability to pay or insurance status. The 2023 Shriners Children’s Open, which is the third event in the FedExCup Fall PGA TOUR, took place at TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nev.
The Shriners Children’s Open has also been a breakthrough tournament for several TOUR players, who earned their first victory on the PGA TOUR at TPC Summerlin, including Tiger Woods. It had been hosted by numerous courses before settling at its current venue. When the event planners contacted National Structures to provide the build for the event, they asked for a white-glove experience for their sponsors and patrons. “We achieved this goal by installing the highest quality of equipment and ensuring a first-class finished look,” says Tim Holden, National Structures’ director of operations.
National Structures, a part of the RK Group, designs, delivers and assembles tenting, temporary structures, flooring, HVAC, power generation and mobile-kitchen assets for events across the nation. For this event, National Structures used aluminum vinyl-clad structures to create unique venues throughout the golf course. The company installed more than 45,000 square feet of covered venues in 71 separate tents, in addition to 34 custom pergolas and 3,000 feet of picket fence for the event. It also featured a 20-by-30-meter double-decker tent with custom glass railing on the top floor, creating a 360-degree panoramic view.
VIP tenting
The largest and most popular venue for the event was CLUB360, sponsored by High Noon, which was housed in the 20-by-30-meter double-decker tent with glass wall railing located between holes 1, 16, 17 and 18. “The bottom level was open to spectators and included upgraded food and beverages available for purchase, more than 30 TVs, soft seating lounges and upgrades from other tournament sponsors,” Holden says. “The top level was the signature VIP place to be, and was Shriners’ newest upgraded venue. With a bird’s-eye view of beautiful TPC Summerlin, CLUB360 offered panoramic views of the course from the second level, as well as a fun and lively atmosphere for watching golf’s best players as they made their final drives.”
Other areas included The Spot, presented by USA TODAY Sports, which was an all-inclusive 15-by-25-meter venue that National Structures built overlooking the dramatic par 3, No. 17 hole. “The Spot paired with corporate cabanas that National Structures provided in the form of shaded pergolas,” Holden says. “The pergolas gave sponsors a more personal smaller venue to entertain guests in a full-service private suite on hole 17.”
In addition to these exclusive hospitality venues, there were corporate skyboxes around the 16th and 18th greens. “Finally, a great event like the Shriners Open doesn’t happen without all of the operational support areas, including media rooms, check-in areas, volunteer support, player services, patron refreshments, parking, security and more,” Holden says.
More than tenting
In addition to structures, National Structures provided 3,000 feet of an elegant white picket fence that encircled some of the key player areas. “Our versatile picket fence is easy to install in changing environments and surfaces while providing
a professional and effective secure border for the players,” Holden says.
National Structures also provided furniture, which included more than 2,500 chairs and 600 tables—from rattan lounge area furniture and luncheon setups to acrylic bars and cocktail tables. The company also provided custom logo vinyl, tops, gables and valances.
Attention to detail
The 2023 Shriners Open was the third year National Structures provided tenting and other accommodations for the event, so the company was prepared to prevent surprises. “We had the gear on-site to be able to accommodate the natural changes and shifts that occur in almost every build, and we were always ready to shift focus if other vendor schedules didn’t align with ours,” Holden says.
There were a few challenges, however, as there always are. The jobsite had an extremely small loading and compound area, so the crew was only able to receive one truck at a time. A further challenge was that the location was in a residential neighborhood. “We unloaded semis on the residential road and maintained friendly working hours for the neighbors,” Holden says.
Getting new manufactured products released from customs and ports for on-time arrivals was also challenging. “Those entities operate on their time frame, not the customers’,” Holden says.
All in all, the event install and teardown went smoothly. It took a crew of 12 people four weeks for the install and 13 days to remove and load out the entire job. Holden calls out branding expert Salem Sports Events LLC, Winston-Salem, N.C., for helping take the event to the next level. “They installed some very attractive interior displays inside several venues,” he says. “They do great work and only further enhance the first-class appearance of our structures.
“Being a partner of such a great organization, the Shriners Hospital for Children, to raise funding to help families in need is the most satisfying thing to me about this project,” Holden continues. “Our team was also able to meet some of the kids who benefit from the money raised when the kids were able to come out and enjoy the tournament with their families. And we will be back for 2024—ready for bigger and better!”
Sigrid Tornquist is a Minneapolis, Minn.-based writer and editor and former InTents editor.