INDIAN WELLS: The $75M Indian Wells Tennis Garden in
CA, which officially opened this week with the debut of the
Tennis Masters Series, is profiled in a front-page report in
the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL by Daniel Kaplan. Kaplan writes
that the tournament at Indian Wells has the "capacity to
attract more spectators than Wimbledon and the French Open"
(SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/13 issue). In San Diego, Jerry
Magee reported that the facility "drew largely favorable
reviews" from spectators at the opening round of the women's
event Friday. He wrote that the 16,071-seat "main stadium
... would seem the most serviceable in American tennis," as
it is "of more practical proportions and provides better
site lines" than the 23,600-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium at the
National Tennis Center in NY (S.D. UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/11).
RACING INDUSTRY: In DC, Andrew Beyer examines the trend
of Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Int'l acquiring
thoroughbred race tracks and writes, "Fans may ask: Is
consolidation going to make the sport better? Are Magna and
Churchill going to operate tracks more effectively than
their former owners?" While Magna President Jerry Campbell
said that the company is "investigating the possibility of
marketing" its own racing channel, Magna also "wants to
enhance the experience of live racing." Campbell: "We want
to offer better food, better service, family entertainment
with a Disney World feel. A TV product doesn't work if no
one is in the stands" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/14).
