The 113th U.S. Open is coming to the Merion Golf Club. So are an expected 175,000 fans.
An Ardmore couple is hoping to make enough money off those fans to help pay for their Costa Rican wedding in August.
Michelle Hammonds and her fianceé Dave McCarthy are offering two residential parking passes and three additional parking spaces on their Haverford Avenue property.
"This is our home and it's exciting to have celebrities and a golf tournament nearby. It's not just any golf tournament," said Hammonds.
Hammonds and McCarthy have two ads on Craigslist. Their spaces are going for $30 per day and available for 7 days. The two residential passes are $200 each. That's a total potential profit of $1,030.
The residential parking passes are good for street parking and give drivers access to blocked-off streets much closer to the golf club. Neighbors have to let the local police department know who their guests are so they can access the individual parking spots at residential homes.
Originally, Hammonds and McCarthy thought about leaving the area and renting their house too.
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"It's also a little daunting. I'm not sure how long it's going to take to get to work," said Hammonds.
The couple lives about five blocks from the heart of the golf universe. They've also sold out the parking spaces for Thursday and Friday, but have plenty of slots for the other five days and their two residential passes are still available.
Golf course neighbors in Ardmore and surrounding communities have been preparing for the U.S. Open, which starts June 10 (practice rounds) and ends on Father's Day.
Michael Kearney put up his post on Craigslist this morning, offering a parking space in his driveway for the entire tournament. He lives near hole number two, a prime spot, and is offering parking spaces for $500. Kearney has a long driveway and says he can accommodate up to 4 cars.
That's $2,000 in his pocket.
"Traffic jams haven't stopped since the prep started and all the noise by the house, I thought, 'Boy, I should make some money off this,'" Kearney said.
And if you still need a place to stay, Kearney says his home is also available. He's asking $35,000-$40,000 for the duration of the tournament. An arrangement with a realtor for a much higher asking price didn't work out, so now Kearney's cut out the middle man and doing his own negotiating by email: kearney19041@gmail.com.
