LINDNER FAMILY TENNIS CENTER TO BE EXPANDED BY 40% Expansion Includes Six New Courts Including New Television Court and Completely Upgraded Fan Entry Plaza. Completed West Building Named "Paul Flory Player Center" After Tournament Chairman
CINCINNATI (August 21, 2010) -- The Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio will be expanded by 5.4 acres to include six new courts, and a new ticket office and entry plaza, officials of Tennis for Charity and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced today.
The Tennis Center is the host of the annual Western & Southern Masters and Women's Open, the largest professional summer tennis tournament in the nation outside of the US Open. The grounds are located approximately 20 miles north of Cincinnati.
Crews will break ground immediately following the men's finals, to be held August 22, 2010.
Among the improvements in this phase, planned to be completed by the first day of next year's combined event, which kicks off August 13, 2011:
· Six new courts
o One court with a seating capacity of 4,000 that will serve as a third television court for the 2011 combined event
o One court with a capacity of 2,500
o Four additional courts
· A 2,750-square-foot enclosed ticket office
· A 10,000-square-foot entry plaza with a 30-foot by 60-foot canopy and 9 gates
The new footprint of the Tennis Center will span 19.0 acres, up from 13.6 acres in 2010. The expansion will stretch to the North and East of the current grounds.
"With the tournament planning to host the men and women simultaneously in 2011, this expansion is necessary to accommodate the increase in tennis and attendance expected at the combined event," said Ken Berry, president of Tennis for Charity. Tennis for Charity owns the land and leases the facility to the tournament.
The expansion plans will be designed by Browning, Day, Mullins & Dierdorf in Indianapolis, and the construction will be completed by Vector Construction of Northern Kentucky. Both organizations have been involved with the Lindner Family Tennis Center for more than 20 years. "The goal of the Master Plan is to create a festive urban tennis garden that generates excitement and action throughout the grounds," said executive vice president, Greg Jacoby.
This year's tournament marked the opening of the newly constructed player and media facility built into the West side of the 11,400 capacity Center Court. Also today it was announced, the 52,000-square-foot structure will officially be named the "Paul Flory Player Center," in honor of the tournament chairman, Paul Flory. Flory joined the event in 1975 as tournament director and guided the event from a small tournament held at Coney Island to one of the largest in the world.
"Paul truly is a 'players' tournament director, and it is only fitting this world-class facility now bears his name," said USTA President and Chairman of the Board, Lucy Garvin. "This building will forever honor the man who laid the foundation for this tournament's great success."
2011 LFTC Master Plan Master PLan
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The Western & Southern Masters & Women's Open is held each August at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, 20 miles north of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. The event is the oldest professional tennis tournament in the nation still held in its original city. The tournament is one of the nine prestigious ATP Masters 1000 events, joining other host cities such as Rome, Shanghai and Madrid. On the ladies side, the Open is a Premier 5 event on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The event is also one of the last stops on the Olympus US Open Series prior to the US Open in New York. For more information or tickets visit
www.cincytennis.com or call 513-651-0303.
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with 730,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.
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