Why do professional athletes make so much money? They make it because we are willing to pay for it. Take a gander at this.

The U.S. Tennis Open is a two-week event held each year in Queens, N.Y., under the auspices of the United States Tennis Association. On Monday the USTA and the city of New York released the findings of a study by the Sports Management Research Institute, underwritten by the USTA, on the financial impact the Open has on the New York City area.

The study of the 2000 Open found that the average fan who was attending the Open earned $161,000 a year and spent $374 daily at the Open. An attendance record was set of 606,017, making the Open the “single largest-attended sporting event in the world,” according to the USTA.

New York City officials said the Open generated $420 million in revenue. That’s more such revenue than the Yankees and the Mets combined for a year, which is estimated at $320 million.

Those officials said even the Subway World Series, at $400 million in revenue, didn’t match the Open. That makes the Open a huge destination event that thrives on its own merit and brings in revenue dollars that would not otherwise come to the city.

The USTA said the Open saw merchandise and concession sales reach a record $19.5 million. A total of 125,000 T-shirts and 61,000 hats were sold.

Think you grill during the summer? The Open sold an average of $50,000 worth of hamburgers a day!

We haven’t even talked about the TV revenue or the online income: 4.4 million online visitors generated 1.6 billion hits on the Open site, according to the USTA.

This is why athletes make so much money and why teams and event sponsors can pay the dollars and still reap a profit.

A young man in Denver, who works at the hotel where I stay while covering the Stanley Cup playoffs, gave me a ride to the rink Monday. He was planning on going to the game.

“I called a ticket broker who works with the hotel and he had $225 seats eight rows back from the glass and $75 seats in the upper deck,” he said. “That’s a lot of money for me, but I want to go. I went on the wagon a while ago. I can spend some of the money I’ve saved from drinking. I can celebrate not drinking by going to the game.”

That kind of attitude is what drives sports. There is an insatiable appetite for sports in this country that keeps growing. It is an appetite that covers all income levels, as evidenced by the Open study and my Denver friend.

The Open study is an eye opener, sponsored by the USTA to further enhance their product, which means money for sponsorship and TV rights.

We only think there’s an end to dollars in sports. Check your wallet. Is there a dollar in there? Then there’s more sports dollars to be spent.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.