Australian Open future in doubt – Tennis Australia may move event to Sydney or CHINA

The Australian Open is in serious danger of being scrapped in Melbourne and moved to Sydney and perhaps even China as Covid crowd restrictions have left Tennis Australia penniless and unable to fund much-needed expansion.

That was the warning from TA chief Craig Tiley, who said even the $1 billion of taxpayers’ money given to the organization over the past decade to improve the Melbourne Park grounds was nowhere near enough to bring it up to the level of other Grand Slams. tournaments.

Tiley said the TA was unable to fund the improvements themselves because crowd restrictions during the last two Australian Opens had left the organization on the financial brink.

He told the Herald Sun that TA’s cash reserves had “gone from $80 million to zero, pretty much” as a result of the Covid restrictions over the past two years.

Ash Barty celebrates winning the 2022 Australian Open Women’s Singles. Will he be one of the last to do so at Melbourne Park? There is fresh speculation that the event may have to be moved due to Tennis Australia’s Covid-related financial struggles.

The TA is budgeting a record 900,000 ticket sales for next month’s event to raise the much-needed funds, and Tiley admitted there had been fresh talks about moving the event out of Melbourne due to the economic crisis.

“I know it was discussed and debated, absolutely,” he told the Herald-Sun.

– From a personal point of view, the Australian Open should always be in Melbourne. I’ve always been in favor of it.

‘But I’m only one person.

There is an organization, there is a government, there are stakeholders and there is also a company of the future.

Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley (pictured with wife Ali at the recent Newcombe Medal event) warns the future of the Australian Open is uncertain due to the organisation’s financial problems caused by Covid-related mass restrictions.

In 2010, private investment groups in both Sydney and Shanghai attempted to snap up the event, prompting the Victorian Government to fund $1 billion to improve Melbourne Park and preserve the event.

While that spending had improved the facilities somewhat, Tiley said recent big investments by other Grand Slam hosts – Wimbledon, Roland Garros and Flushing Meadow – had left Melbourne Park looking like the poor cousin again.

Unlike the other three, Melbourne Park is only leased by the TA, not owned, and the facility is under state control.

“There was a season where we were way behind and then we caught up and everybody was together,” Tiley said.

– Now the other three make huge jumps and they can because they have space.

‘So what’s our massive leap to make sure we don’t get left behind?

Melbourne Park (pictured) has seen a billion-dollar investment from the state government over the past ten years, but Tiley says it still needs another major stadium and an extra outdoor pitch, but the city’s sporting precinct has little room for expansion.

Mr Tiley said Melbourne Park needed another major stadium to complement Rod Laver Arena and John Cain Arena – the two main venues for the Australian Open – as well as other outdoor courts.

To do this, he proposed that Melbourne Park needed to be extended over the railway lines into what little green space was left in the city’s tightly packed sports precinct next to the rectangular stadium at AAMI Park.