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Events and Attractions

Miami Open Officially Announces '19 Move To Hard Rock Stadium With 30-Year Agreement

IMG’s joint ATP/WTA Miami Open tournament this morning formally announced plans to play at a new tennis complex at Hard Rock Stadium beginning in ’19. The 30-year agreement will see the Dolphins and IMG collectively spend $60M to build a tennis center outside the stadium. The main court will reside inside the venue. All 30 courts, except for the stadium one, are permanent. “We are going to put this thing into hyperspeed overnight,” said Mark Shapiro, co-President of Endeavor divisions WME and IMG. There are 21 courts at the tournament’s current home on Key Biscayne, which will host the event in ’18 for one final time. The tournament has been on Key Biscayne since ‘87 and grew into a top WTA and ATP stop, before slipping in recent years. At the new facility, which will be easily accessible by the Florida Turnpike, parking will greatly expand, as will the hospitality and sponsor opportunities. Shapiro sees a great opportunity to market to northern Florida, an area which has previously not been a big market for the nearly two-week event because of the inaccessibility of Key Biscayne. Shapiro discussed moving from what many view as an island paradise to a parking lot outside a stadium, saying he understood the sentiment but that it is misinformed because the Miami Open will become a “super tennis entertainment facility.” A defining feature of the facility will be a 40-foot by 90-foot video board outside Hard Rock Stadium that will show matches around the grounds (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).

KEEPING PACE: In Miami, Michelle Kaufman notes the Miami Open for a long time was "nicknamed 'the Fifth Grand Slam' and set the bar tour-wide," and players at one point "voted it Tournament of the Year six out of seven years." However, the last time Miami won the award was '08. The award the past three years went to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, where Oracle Founder and tournament Owner Larry Ellison has poured $200M "into the event since buying it" for $100M in '09. Players have "come to expect that level of VIP treatment at every venue." Once the Miami Open moves to Hard Rock Stadium, players will be "pampered with 30,000 square feet of dining space (more than triple what they have now), a 10,000 square-foot gym (more than triple the size of the current space), 17,000 square feet of locker space and triple the lounge space." Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross said, “The experience is what people are looking for, and we have the land to do a lot of things, transportation and parking are easier, everyone wins. We will landscape it so it will look like a Florida paradise, a five-star resort. The main thing is, we kept it in Miami.” Shapiro said, “We love Key Biscayne. We’ve had an incredible stay there. It’s been one of the greatest sporting tournaments in the world. But the truth is, we outgrew it" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 12/20).

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