Brisbane Hopes To Break Ticket Sale Record with Roger Federer Among Its Star Players

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 24th December 2013

Brisbane Hopes To Break Ticket Sale Record with Roger Federer Among Its Star Players

epa03554750 Roger Federer of Switzerland during his semi final match against Andy Murray of Great Britain at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2013. EPA/Barbara Walton |

Roger Federer’s first appearance at the Brisbane International is said to have caused a surge in ticket sales.

“The upcoming event will probably be our biggest ever,” tournament director Cameron Pearson told the Courier-Mail. The tournament record of 92,804 was set in 2012, and with Federer, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Lleyton Hewitt playing in the event, it’s possible the tournament will top 100,000 attendees.”

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley added, “”The opportunity is there for Queensland to get a huge boost for the growth of the sport from Roger and the other great players. Every coach in Queensland should be grabbing the opportunity with open arms as a chance to get more people playing tennis and young athletes interested in the game, by using the profile of Federer to get a huge boost to his business.”

While the 5500-seat Pat Rafter Arena (center court) is state of art, the grounds of the Queensland Tennis Centre are not that expansive. Land on one end of the facility had once been identified as a site for a new, No. 2 stadium, but the Queensland Tennis Centre also butts up against some corporate parks.

The two outer show courts each feature 1000 seats. A new stadium would be less than the Rafter Arena, but hold more than those two other show courts,.

The state government announced funding for sport in Queensland would remain at 2013 levels for the next three years, so the tournament will have to seek other sources if it is to erect a new stadium.

The tournament is run by Tennis Australia, but the venue is owned by Stadiums Queensland.

The QTC itself was opened in 2009 tournament at a cost of $82 million, and then additional funds were put into it in 2011 after the country’s historic flood.

“It is certainly a tough (economic) climate, but the tournament is growing, with attendances increasing by 35 per cent in five years,” Pearson said. “As the tournament grows, we need to look at the facilities and what is needed to support that growth.”

Topics: 10sballs.com, Brisbane International, Cameron Pearson, Courier-Mail, Craig Tiley, Lleyton Hewitt, Maria Sharapova, Pat Rafter, Rafter Arena, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tennis, Tennis Australia, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka