Roughly six months after Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross "proposed moving Miami’s premier tennis tournament from Key Biscayne to his stadium in Miami Gardens, both sides appear to be getting closer to a deal," according to Hanks & Kaufman of the MIAMI HERALD. IMG, which owns the ATP/WTA event, has said that it "needs modern tennis and entertainment facilities to remain competitive with rivals around the world." Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Peña Lindsay said of a possible agreement, "I do think it's imminent." But sources said that "more discussions are needed to reach a deal, and Miami-Dade has not yet received a request to release the tournament from the remaining six years on its lease at the county’s Crandon Park." Hanks & Kaufman note the '18 tournament would "continue as planned at the waterfront Crandon complex," with the possibility of '19 being the event’s debut on Hard Rock Stadium grounds. A '14 deal with Miami-Dade tied to Ross’ $500M renovation of Hard Rock Stadium brings "extra sweetener to the deal." The county "agreed to pay the team" up to $5M a year for "landing the Super Bowl and other major sporting events." While the agreement "does not contemplate payments for a tennis tournament, the Dolphins’ negotiating team has already said the Miami Open should qualify" for at least $2M a year based on the deal’s criteria. Sources added that the ATP has already "tentatively endorsed a move" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/6).
