Loyalist band snubs £20k offer to postpone parade that clashes with Open
Tens of thousands of fans coming out of the Dunluce Links and back to the Co Antrim seaside town could merge with large crowds gathered for the parade, posing logistical problems.
The Royal & Ancient (R&A), which organises the tournament, is understood to be preparing to amend tee times to ease the congestion.
It has now emerged that the band was offered in the region of £20,000 by organisers to postpone their parade — which they refused.
PUP councillor Russell Watton said the situation should have been dealt with long ago, with the R&A's offer coming late in the day.
'They (the R&A) are only doing it because of the traffic problem. There are 64 bands booked to go to this parade,' he told this newspaper.
'They came in and did a presentation to the council six months ago, but they should have been at that long ago, not at the last minute.
'There are people there getting paid to run the thing. They knew the parade was always on that Saturday after the Twelfth. They knew it and everybody else knew it.
'About three or four weeks ago, they offered them about £20,000.'
The R&A has been contacted for comment.
Mr Watton said the weekend marked one of the most lucrative in the Portrush calendar, with bands coming from all over Northern Ireland to attend.
'This is booked solid, and they come from Markethill, Kilkeel, south Fermanagh and they stay for the weekend,' he said.
'They do their own Twelfth and then come down here. The caravan parks are jam-packed. It's almost the biggest economic weekend in Portrush. The Open will be dead and gone next year, it'll not be there after next weekend.
'It will go all right, though. The golf course is a good three quarters of a mile from the main street.
'The band has my full support; I'm just hoping it works out.'
Behind the scenes at Royal Portrush: The changes to The Open course
Just under 50,000 spectators are expected to flock to Royal Portrush for the sold-out Open tournament each day.
The parade is scheduled to begin at 8.15pm, with the third round of The Open typically finishing at around 8pm.
A significant number of fans are set to travel by public transport, which would require them to return to the centre of the town to catch either a bus or a train.
In a statement to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the R&A said: 'We are working on plans to minimise disruption for our fans leaving the championship due to the event taking place in Portrush on the Saturday evening.'
It is not believed that there is much wriggle room for the R&A as the tee times have to align with broadcast windows in the United States, meaning that while the start of the day's play could be moved forward, it will not be by a considerable amount.
With 278,000 fans heading to Royal Portrush over the course of the week, the 153rd Open is set to be the biggest sporting event in Northern Irish history.
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