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Events and Attractions

Wuhan Open, Considered A 'City Branding Exercise,' Already Has World-Class Facilities

The Wuhan Open in Hubei province, central China, has spent 1.5B yuan ($225M) on its facilities since its inception in '14, according to Danielle Rossingh of CNN. The tournament, taking place in the hometown of "Asia's first major singles winner Li Na, is only in its third year." Yet it has spent $225M on facilities that would not "look out of place at any of the four majors," and most of the women's top 10 -- except the injured Serena Williams -- "are due to take part." Sheffield Hallam University Sports Industry Research Center Head Simon Shibli said, "This is very much a city branding exercise." The event, owned by sports management and marketing agency Octagon, "replaced Tokyo as one of the tour's Premier 5." It was leased for 15 years to the Wuhan Sports Development Investment Co. Last year, the Wuhan Open built a "state-of-the-art center court, complete with retractable roof, modeled on the Australian Open." It can accommodate 15,000 tennis fans, "as many as Wimbledon's showpiece arena." None of it "would have been possible without Li's victory at the 2011 French Open." Wuhan Open co-Tournament Dir Fabrice Chouquet said, "It was the new frontier for tennis in China, a new era. What was not possible before, became possible then." According to the Int'l Tennis Federation, there are "nearly 15 million tennis players in China." In comparison, almost 10 million people in the U.S. play at least 10 times a year. The Wuhan Open is the first int'l top-level sports event held in the capital of Hubei. The event attracted 75,000 fans in the inaugural edition of '14. After tripling the size of its 5,000-seat main stadium in '15, it "welcomed 120,000 visitors last year." Yi forecast 130,000 spectators in '16. Chouquet, a Frenchman who spends about half of the year in the city, said, "The city's tagline is 'Wuhan, different every day' and it literally is true. Wuhan is growing, its economy is booming. It is transforming" (CNN, 9/24).

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