Miami Concerned About Lawsuit’s Effect On Expansion

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 14th May 2013

Miami Concerned About Lawsuit's Effect On Expansion |

Sony Open CEO Adam Barrett was thrilled to see Miami-Dade voters approve a $50 million renovation of the county-owned facility, but he isn’t jumping up and down with joy just yet.

Barrett told the Miami Herald that a lawsuit from Bruce Matheson and the local regulatory process could still prove to be problematic. He also added that without increased revenue that the Sony Open can’t keep pace the rival tournaments.

“It’s 100 percent contingent on the Matheson lawsuit,” he said. “Our first step was to start with the public. It wasn’t necessarily required first. We chose to start with it. Before we went down that road [of pursuing an expansion] we wanted to make sure that the public agreed. Since we had this [referendum] requirement anyway, we said let’s start with it. If the public wants us to be here for the long haul and make these improvements without them paying for it, then we’ll go ahead and take all of the other necessary steps after the vote. Our goal is to break ground in April 2014.”

After voters approved the referendum, Matheson sued the county attempting to block the renovations and then IMG countersued.

Heirs of the Matheson family lost a 1988 lawsuit seeking to prevent completion of the tennis center.

The Mathesons had donated the parkland.

IMG claims its contract with the county for a tennis complex in Crandon Park takes precedence over a settlement reached later between the county and Matheson. It is also asking the court to throw out a Crandon Park Master Plan created in large part by Matheson, who has said IMG, is trying to create a situation that suits their needs.

“In my opinion, I believe that Bruce has his own vision of the park, which is to return it to 1948,” Barrett said. “I think he has his own recollection of the history. If you hear him speak, he talks about the family’s donation. And they did donate 800 acres but it was in exchange for a bridge. It gave the family the ability to develop another 1,000 acres on Key Biscayne. It was a commercial venture….This is a one-person crusade who believes his vision of Crandon Park overrides the citizens of Dade County.”

Barrett added that because the tournament only has one main stadium, they have to build temporary stadiums annually. He said that the tournament doesn’t have enough bathrooms or concessions.

“During the tournament, we bring 300,000 people—citizens plus tourists from all over the world. It should be a completely first class experience. Instead, they’re sitting in temporary bleachers,” he said.

IMG claims that they give Miami-Dade a share of annual revenue as part of a license fee in excess of $1.1 million.

“We’re negotiating the deal with the county right now. The goal is it will be enough [money for Miami-Dade] to cover the operational costs so that the county is not subsidizing the event,” he said. “Right now we feel the county, through parking revenue and the licensing fee, is actually operating the event at close to or breaking even.”

Barrett added that during the recession that revenues flattened out and did admit that the absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal this year had an effect.

“We had over 300,000 ticket holders, and we sold out our last five sessions. But Roger and “Rafa” both transcend tennis and they transcend sport” he said. “They are superstars. Like any other superstar, there is going to be interest in them above the level of the sport itself. Do they bring an extra dimension? Absolutely. Can you have Roger and Rafa not show up and feel it to some extent, yes. I think the effect was tops 5 or 6 percent. What that says is you have a true, hardcore base that want to come out to the tournament. But there was a shock factor at first in terms of: What do you mean they’re not here?