For so long in tennis, there have been the four Grand Slams and everything else. But the Larry Ellison-owned BNP Paribas Open, a top WTA and ATP Tour stop, is changing that paradigm. Amenities and crowds at the March tourney rival, and in some cases exceed, the majors.
Attendance topped 456,000 in March, just 2 percent less than the French Open. With a goal of a half million by 2018, which would be higher than Wimbledon’s haul last year, the BNP Paribas Open is likely to soon overtake the French.
There is no denying that part of the success started when one of the wealthiest men on the planet, Oracle founder Ellison, bought the California event in 2010 and started spending.
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Viewing platforms for practice give fans an up-close experience.
Photo by: Getty Images |
“We are like kids in a candy shop,” said Raymond Moore, CEO of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where the event occurs. “But people think he just opens his checkbook. I have to sit with him and justify it.”
Take three years ago when Ellison wanted to know why his friends were told no tickets remained even though the place was not fully sold out. Moore explained that parking was limited, and the local authorities would not let any more people in as a result.
Ellison not only agreed to spend $42 million on adjacent land for more parking, but $95 million on a new No. 2 stadium to sit on the new space. And Moore is set to hand him over plans for a new No. 3 stadium to open in 2017.
Having Ellison’s money helps. The tournament is the only one in the world with instant replay on every court. The event laid five miles of cable to ensure high quality Wi-Fi reception, allowing 25,000 downloads simultaneously on site.
The site has three restaurants, including Nobu, two of which patrons can watch tennis from their tables. There are two fashion shows, 62 video screens around the grounds, and large murals popping up through a now 2-year-old partnership with painter Mike Sullivan (Moore describes him as the new Leroy Neiman).
“It is no longer I am coming to the tennis center to watch tennis balls being hit,” said Moore, a former top doubles player. “You have to give the spectator a better experience, a daily experience, a sports experience, a fashion experience, a shopping experience, whatever it is.”
The event also heavily invested in a tournament app that gives driving directions to the site, locates a fan’s car, directs fans to their seats, has on-site restaurant menus, and next year will have nine courts streaming (up from four courts).
The new No. 3 stadium, with a capacity of 5,000, will be called the Museum Stadium. It will house a tennis museum, a new cafeteria for the media, and a Rolex store.
Some of the tournament’s ideas are now replicated around the tennis world, including viewing platforms for the practice courts, which became a big hit at the U.S. Open last year when the Grand Slam event first opened them.
“I actually laughed at the ESPN coverage of the U.S. Open last September, because suddenly ESPN was saying, ‘Oh, look at these, the practice courts, the U.S. Open,’” Moore said. “[They] were copying our practice [courts]. It is terrific.”
