Pac Life fate known soon 

Pac Life fate known soon

The final step in securing the future of the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells will go before the United States Tennis Association board during its meeting this weekend in San Antonio.
Raymond Moore, the president of PM Sports, which owns half of the Pacific Life Open, is optimistic the board will approve a proposal to invest approximately $6 million to purchase part of the tournament and guarantee it remains in the desert.

"We've talked about all kinds of different figures," Moore said. "We've discussed several different options. We don't know which one they will take or decide upon. The key issue is they make an investment. That's the key issue."

The Pacific Life Open, a 12-day tournament in March with an estimated economic impact of $140 million on the Coachella Valley, wants to buy out business partner IMG, an international sports and entertainment marketing firm based in Cleveland. The buyout price for IMG is $24 million.

The Tennis Company, a group which invests in tennis properties, is financing a large amount of the buyout, but said they are only in the deal if the USTA invests as well.

In August, USTA president Franklin Johnson said the Tennis Company had discussed a USTA investment of between $5-to-$6 million toward the IMG deal. Moore has said the $6 million figure is a moving target, and Johnson said it was only a starting point.

"Our objective is to do what's necessary to keep the tournament here, whatever the amount is," Johnson said. "The USTA's mission is to develop the growth of tennis in this country. Related to the growth is the stature and profile of the sport. These tournaments give people a chance to see the top players, read about them, and see them on TV. The thought of this tournament disappearing would be negative to that development."

If the USTA elects not to invest in the Pacific Life Open, the event will have to consider other options, including one from investors in Shanghai, who made an offer between $35-$70 million for the event earlier this year.

"I don't think we can wait any more," Moore said. "IMG is not going to wait any more. We need to get this thing done, one way or another. We need a resolution, up or down, by (this weekend)."


Conducting the due diligence for the USTA has been Arlen Kantarian, the chief executive of professional tennis. Kantarian will construct the proposal the15-member USTA board will vote on at its meeting in San Antonio. Board members, outside of Johnson, have been told not to discuss the matter with the media.
In order for the proposal to pass, the board needs a simple majority vote. Johnson said the presentation will be made Friday, but a decision could take as long as Sunday, when the meetings conclude at noon.

Johnson, who has spearheaded the campaign to have the USTA help the Pacific Life Open, said he has not spoken with Kantarian or the other board members, and will learn of the exact proposal at the meetings.

"I got some feedback from people who have talked to board members, and they said they will reserve their opinions until they see the presentation. So there are definitely people undecided," Johnson said. "It's hard to predict, but I would be disappointed if we didn't support it."

Johnson said he didn't expect the figure to be more than $6 million. Moore, who has been working with Kantarian and his staff, said there is a chance the investment could be more than $6 million.

Moore said the feedback he's received from Kantarian and his staff has left him optimistic.

"So far, all the signals are positive," Moore said. "We're talking about nuts and bolts like tennis marketing, branding, wild cards (into the tournament) and options for the USTA to increase their ownership. It's those kinds of things, which is positive. It's all very positive."

The USTA owns and runs the U.S. Open, the richest tournament in the world. By adding the USTA as a partner in the Pacific Life Open, it would give the tournament added clout that could help attract more sponsors, investors and provide leverage with television contracts.

The Pacific Life Open is one of the largest tournaments in the world. The event attracted more than 280,000 fans in March. Only the four Grand Slam tournaments, which are a full two weeks with larger draws, attract more fans than Indian Wells.

"The USTA's position is, we're going to do what's good for tennis in the U.S.," Johnson said. "If we step in, we'll look to see if there's a variety of ways we can help, from sponsorship to TV contracts. We'll try to use our contact and leverage to make the tournament more profitable."

Moore also mentioned other things have been included in the negotiations, such as using the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as a training facility, and a host site for the international team competitions, the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.

The non-profit USTA, whose mission is to support the growth of tennis in this country, has recently taken a more active role in professional tennis by investing in tournaments.

In addition to the U.S. Open, the USTA owns four other tournaments - the ATP tournaments in New Haven, Conn., and Houston, as well as the WTA event in New Haven and a quarter of the Carson tournament.

As far back as 1990, the USTA had no interest in investing in professional tournaments outside the U.S. Open, Moore said.

"It was a them and us (ATP) at that time," Moore said of 1990. "But as time as gone on, it makes sense. The USTA is the big fish. They run the biggest tournament in the world. They can lend considerable muscle and brain power to our tournament, the Pacific Life, and to tennis in general in the United States."