Deal Could Save Pacific Life Open

One sizable obstacle has been removed in an effort to keep the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells.

The city reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday with PM Sports Management, which owns 50% of the tournament and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, to keep the event in the area for the next 20 years.

Raymond Moore and Charlie Pasarell of PM Sports are attempting to buy out the sports management firm IMG, which owns the other half of the tournament and wants to move it to Shanghai, with a syndicate led by George Mackin and Bob Miller of Tennis magazine.

The final and necessary piece of the equation is the U.S. Tennis Assn., which would become the final investor. The organization is expected to hold a preliminary board meeting during the U.S. Open with Indian Wells on the agenda. A final decision for the USTA investment could come in October.

“The city asked for two investors,” Moore said. “George Mackin and Bob Miller have agreed, so that’s done. That’s another half step in the completion. If the USTA approves of an investment, we’re home.”

USTA President Franklin Johnson said in an interview with The Times during the Mercedes-Benz tournament last month that he was receiving some early opposition to the idea.

“It’s not a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination,” Moore said. “Frankly, it’s out of our hands now. We have done absolutely every single thing we can. We’ve agreed to sell our own assets -- the commercial land and our parking lot to pay down the debt.”

Despite the obstacles ahead, Moore was excited about the resolution with the city, which was announced after an emergency closed session.

“This was obviously a critical component,” Moore said. “Without the city approving our proposal and agreeing to fund it, we could go nowhere. This is a two-step process. We’ve taken the first step, but you can never even attempt the second step until the first is taken.”

City Manager Greg Johnson, released a statement, saying: “The strategic proposal that we have developed centers on the purchase and use of land that will be held as an investment for the city of Indian Wells.”

To that end, the city agreed to purchase 27 acres of land from PM Sports for $15 million and that will then be used toward paying down the $39 million debt on the tennis facility. Additionally, PM Sports will be selling about 64 acres to a developer, also to pay down the debt service on Indian Wells Tennis Garden.