Attendance at the ten-day men's and women's tennis
tournament at Indian Wells, CA, totaled 186,690 (Bill Dwyre,
L.A. TIMES, 3/20). In CA, Jim Short wrote that through last
Thursday, the "largest gathering" for a day session at the
new Indian Wells Garden was 14,220 and 13,456 for a night
session, with capacity at the main court being 16,100 and
22,000 on the grounds. Tournament Dir Charlie Pasarell said
that ticket sales "had exceeded projections before the
tournament began" and that attendance was up over past
years, which Short wrote is "to be expected" given that the
site is larger than the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, where
the tournament was played in previous years. Pasarell, on
the new venue: "We built with room to grow and we know we
need to grow." Short added that the facility has received
"positive reviews from all who have seen it" and that
Pasarell said that "no problems have arisen that are not
fixable." Pasarell said that the debt service on the
facility would be met even if the venue "is used for nothing
but the tournament," but other events are currently
scheduled for the venue (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 3/19).
