New Haven and Winston Salem

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 19th August 2013

New Haven and Winston Salem

epa03830027 John Isner, of the United States, returns a volley to Rafael Nadal, of Spain, during the finals of the ATP Masters in Mason, Ohio, USA, on 18 August 2013. Nadal won 7-6, 7-6. EPA/Mark Lyons |

This week’s Winston-Salem event is not bothered by going it alone financially without a title sponsor. Over its three years of life since buying the New Haven sanction and transferring it south, the tournament has used the tennis week as a promotional vehicle for the North Carolina black-dirt area formerly dedicated to the lucrative cash crop of tobacco. Even the names of the town were used as cigarette brands

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“The main sponsors all looked at this as a great opportunity to promote the city of Winston-Salem, and we have stayed with that,” tournament director Bill Oakes told local media. “The economics may change over time, but right now, we’re excited to be the Winston-Salem Open.”

Area tourism promotion officials are of a similar mind, with the host city serving as the star – along with the players and a field which includes local hero John Isner, winner of both previous editions played in his home state. “The name of the tournament carries your city,” said tourism official Kelly Gaines. “That’s just unheard of in this day and age. It’s not the New York Open, it’s the US Open, it’s not the London Open, it’s Wimbledon.”

The New Haven Open has reduced the number of seats at this year’s event and tournament director Anne Worcester says that is just a sign of the times.

A crowd of only 4,840 was on hand for last year’s tournament final.

“It’s the new normal,” Worcester told the New Haven Register. “The biggest change is that all live sports entertainment events are challenged with getting people off the couch. There are so many different choices for the consumer.”

Some analysts now believe that because it is so much easier to watch sporting events either on television or online (which was not the case when Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati played the 2001 New Haven final in front of 11,584 fans), it takes a much bigger effort to get them to show up in person.

Moreover, the digital technology improving at rapid rate, many fans prefer to watch sports on HD television instead of watching it live as they believe it’s almost as good as the real thing.

Worcester says that she and her team are consistently adding new things to the event to entice spectators to attend; the tournament offers the Aetna FitZone, a fashion show and promotional contests.

“We’re always trying to keep things fresh and take fan-friendliness to the next level,” Worcester said. “That’s what’s kept us alive and well.”

The newspaper noted a Yahoo! Sports study that said that attendance is falling in every sport, MLB, college football and the extremely popular NFL — has taken a dip.

Lee Igel, a professor of sports management at New York University says that ticket pricing is one of the biggest issues. That and added costs of attending an event such as transportation, parking, food and drink.

“It’s really sort of a classic business problem of having enormous success and thinking it will continue and always work,” Igel said. “The customer is getting the same, but paying more. They don’t get it: ‘Why should I go? What’s in it for me?’”

Worcester, who was once the CEO of the WTA, said that star power is slacking. Some of the game’s biggest stars such as the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Aga Radwanska are not playing the event, but given that it’s the week before the US Open, they were able to impressively recruit some names players in Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki and Angie Kerber.

“Lindsay, Monica, Jennifer,” Worcester said. “It was a first-name basis then. But this is the new normal. I don’t see it changing. Women’s tennis is a global sport. The players are popular in their own countries. The larger issue is we don’t want to lose any more tournaments out of the U.S.”

The New Haven Open is in the final year of a three-year contract with major sponsors Yale University, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Aetna, American Express and First Niagara.

Worcester says, they have indicated interest in renewing, but the tournament had trouble getting a group of sponsors together the last time around and eventually was forced to sell its ATP sanction to Winston-Salem

“I certainly hope (the tournament will return),” she said. “There are a lot of very powerful people that have invested a lot of time and money keeping this tournament alive and well in Connecticut. It’s nice to have them on our side.”

Topics: new haven open, Winston Salem Open