State Of Connecticut Confirms Plan To Purchase WTA Tour Event

The state of Connecticut confirmed it plans to purchase the sanction of the WTA Tour’s New Haven Open from the USTA. In a release sent out this afternoon, the state said the Capital Region Development Authority will vote on purchasing the rights to the tournament on Oct. 17. The sale price is $618,000. CRDA would become the owner of the tournament, which will be held August 15-23, 2014, at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale in New Haven.

Like many lower-tier pro tennis events in the U.S., the New Haven Open, formerly titled by Pilot Pen, has struggled financially. While government ownership of tennis events is common overseas, the Connecticut move is believed to be a first in the U.S.