The LPGA Tour's areaWEB.com Challenge at the Pleasant
Valley Country Club and the U.S. Pro men's tennis tournament
in Boston next month are "operating on life support,"
according to Steve Bailey of the BOSTON GLOBE, who writes,
"Corporate dollars are what make these events go. But at
some point the well starts to run dry. ... Even in this
sports-crazed town." Bailey: "The LPGA and the Longwood
events have gotten swamped by the All-Star Game, the Davis
Cup, and the Ryder Cup, all of which have attracted
attention and drained the sports-marketing budgets of local
companies." LPGA Commissioner Ty Votaw said that he
"threatened to cancel" the areaWEB.com Challenge "because of
concern that the promoter could not meet its financial
obligations," although the title sponsor said the event "is
solid." Meanwhile, the U.S. Pro entered into a three-year
deal with Woolf Associates to "rescue the tournament,"
although the firm "can pull out" if the event "bombs too
badly." Woolf Associates President Larry Moulter said that
the event "needs to make some serious progress from its long
slide or it could be history." Moulter: "The only question
is how much will it lose this year" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/28).
