WESTCHESTER COUNTY (NY) BUSINESS JOURNAL's Gerald Astor
wrote that after three years of holding an event at
Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY, the ATP Men's Senior
Tour "will move its show" to Wollman Memorial Rink in N.Y.
in June. College President Richard Berman and World Wide
Senior Tennis Circuit Exec Producer Henry Brehm agree that
"this is not an angry divorce but instead a natural
progression upon completion of their contract." Berman, on
the Tour: "Jimmy Connors ... was very good with the kids.
He did clinics with homeless kids. ... He showed them how to
be a pro on and off the courts. He was great with the
crowds. John McEnroe was something else. He did nothing to
help, just went home to Greenwich [CT] after he played. It
was not clear to me how much longer Connors would be playing
and without him I don't think it would work." Brehm
believes total ticket sales will improve in N.Y.: "We won't
get the repeaters we had in Westchester, but we believe it
will be a great hospitality event for companies who want to
entertain clients" (WESTCHESTER BUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/29).
INDY NEWS: Hotel accommodations in Indianapolis for the
weekend of September 24, the date of the inaugural F1 race
at IMS, are booking up, according to Bill Koenig of the
INDIANAPOLIS STAR, who wrote that corporations "drive up
room rates with mass bookings." Mercedes-Benz North
American Sports Marketing Manager Steve Potter estimated
that Mercedes will pay $2,000 for each of 128 rooms for four
days at a hotel (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 3/29)....Also in
Indianapolis, John Bansch writes that Roy Jones Jr. will
defend his WBA belt on May 13 at Conseco Fieldhouse. The
event will be televised by HBO and presented by Pacers
Sports & Entertainment in conjunction with promoter Murad
Muhammad (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 3/31).
