D
Deleted member 3771
Guest
Interesting article. I thougth the AO was already one of the very best. Looking forwards to seeing it get even better.
Tennis Australia says Australian Open at crossroads
THE Grand slam status of the Australian Open remains at risk according to Tennis Australia.
TA is gravely concerned Melbourne Park, once the grand slam stadia benchmark, has fallen behind its three older rivals.
"The Australian Open, one of the world's four grand slams, is at a crossroad, its future position and existence at risk," TA's annual report warned.
"Demand for the right to stage tennis events has increased dramatically in the past five years, with significant financial backing available in Asia and the Middle East.
"And we are seeing our grand slam partners supercede our once state-of-the-art facilities with massive investments in their own facilities."
TA's alarm comes as two of the world's leading tennis figures - Romanian promoter Ion Tiriac and French Tennis Federation boss Christian Bimes - raised the possibility of changes to the grand slam landscape.
Tiriac, who runs the successful Madrid Masters series, has told the International Tennis Federation he wants to create more majors.
And Bimes, regarded as a tennis progressive, concedes Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens could soon have company.
"Roland Garros will not lose its grand slam status, but I'm convinced that if we don't make progress, there will one day be a fifth grand slam event in Asia and possibly a sixth in Europe," Bimes said.
"The losers would be the French Open and Wimbledon. We want to avoid that at any cost."
Officials at the Australian Open, which positioned itself in 2003 as the grand slam of the Asia Pacific, are acutely aware of Melbourne Park's urgent need of refurbishment.
TA wants a $300 million upgrade and has applied for State Government funding.
"During the past two financial years, Wimbledon, Flushing Meadows and Roland Garros have invested $195 million on redevelopments," TA's report said.
"Qi Zhong stadium in Shanghai, venue of the Tennis Masters Cup, saw an initial investment of $283 million, with a further 80 hectares of land available for redevelopment.
"Since the construction of Vodafone Arena in 2000, there have been only two major capital improvements at Melbourne Park - Rod Laver Arena seating replacement and construction of the city entrance.
"In order to maintain the AO's grand slam status, TA requires substantial investment into venue facilities and infrastructure.
"To this end, the operations and events business unit, in conjunction with Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, compiled a master plan: 'Tennis at Melbourne Park - a vision for the future'."
If successful, the redevelopment would include new administrative, player and public facilities.
Plans also include a tennis heritage museum, a technology building, upgrades of Rod Laver Arena and other show courts and improved transport accessibility to the site.
Tennis Australia says Australian Open at crossroads
THE Grand slam status of the Australian Open remains at risk according to Tennis Australia.
TA is gravely concerned Melbourne Park, once the grand slam stadia benchmark, has fallen behind its three older rivals.
"The Australian Open, one of the world's four grand slams, is at a crossroad, its future position and existence at risk," TA's annual report warned.
"Demand for the right to stage tennis events has increased dramatically in the past five years, with significant financial backing available in Asia and the Middle East.
"And we are seeing our grand slam partners supercede our once state-of-the-art facilities with massive investments in their own facilities."
TA's alarm comes as two of the world's leading tennis figures - Romanian promoter Ion Tiriac and French Tennis Federation boss Christian Bimes - raised the possibility of changes to the grand slam landscape.
Tiriac, who runs the successful Madrid Masters series, has told the International Tennis Federation he wants to create more majors.
And Bimes, regarded as a tennis progressive, concedes Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens could soon have company.
"Roland Garros will not lose its grand slam status, but I'm convinced that if we don't make progress, there will one day be a fifth grand slam event in Asia and possibly a sixth in Europe," Bimes said.
"The losers would be the French Open and Wimbledon. We want to avoid that at any cost."
Officials at the Australian Open, which positioned itself in 2003 as the grand slam of the Asia Pacific, are acutely aware of Melbourne Park's urgent need of refurbishment.
TA wants a $300 million upgrade and has applied for State Government funding.
"During the past two financial years, Wimbledon, Flushing Meadows and Roland Garros have invested $195 million on redevelopments," TA's report said.
"Qi Zhong stadium in Shanghai, venue of the Tennis Masters Cup, saw an initial investment of $283 million, with a further 80 hectares of land available for redevelopment.
"Since the construction of Vodafone Arena in 2000, there have been only two major capital improvements at Melbourne Park - Rod Laver Arena seating replacement and construction of the city entrance.
"In order to maintain the AO's grand slam status, TA requires substantial investment into venue facilities and infrastructure.
"To this end, the operations and events business unit, in conjunction with Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, compiled a master plan: 'Tennis at Melbourne Park - a vision for the future'."
If successful, the redevelopment would include new administrative, player and public facilities.
Plans also include a tennis heritage museum, a technology building, upgrades of Rod Laver Arena and other show courts and improved transport accessibility to the site.