Tennis Relocation Called Risky

With its centerpiece event, the JPMorgan Chase Open, moving about 10 miles to Carson, Manhattan Country Club’s general manager called it a “huge risk” on the part of IMG, which owns and operates the tournament.

The move, which will occur next year, became official with an announcement Thursday. After 21 years at Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach, the women’s summer tour stop will be at the 8,000-seat tennis stadium at the Home Depot Center in Carson. The dates are Aug. 4-10 and the tournament usually features a strong field tuning up for the U.S. Open.

“It has been a popular, celebrated community event,” said Andrew Scott, the club’s general manager. “You can relocate the tournament. You can’t relocate the community. We believe IMG is taking a huge risk by relocating.”

IMG’s Eric van Dillen agreed -- to a point.

“I think it is a risk, but there’s a risk in staying,” said Van Dillen, a senior corporate vice president. “It’s a very, very good risk. The upside could be fantastic. If women’s tennis is as great a product as we think, it is the only choice.”

Scott said 40% of ticket sales in past tournaments came from club membership, which was crucial for the commercial viability of day sessions. He doubted that many of the MCC members during the day would drive to watch players not ranked in the top five and also took note of the poor attendance for the WTA Championships at Staples Center.

Still, the Carson event, unlike Staples, is outdoors in the summer.

“If attendance at the Staples Center is any indication of future attendance at the Carson center, we won’t be surprised if IMG comes back to MCC in future years,” he said.

Said Van Dillen: “By going down there, we have access to a much bigger broader base of people in Orange County. We have to do a good job of marketing.”

The marketing budget for the event could double, he said. IMG and the sponsors of the tournament had thought about making the move in a year or two, but Van Dillen said everyone was ready to move forward after recently visiting the tennis venue under construction at the $130-million multisports complex.