Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990 TAG: 9004180068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Our philosophy with all our tournaments," said Stacey Locker, the USTA's circuit coordinator, "is when we find [a site] and it works and the girls seem to like it, we don't really change it."
Thus, the USTA's Women's Circuit will return to Roanoke this summer, the circuit's third straight stop at Hunting Hills Country Club and fourth since 1985. Hunting Hills will formally announce the return of the tournament today at a news conference. The $10,000 event is one of 11 USTA summer tournaments at which pro players try to earn points to boost their rankings high enough to make the qualifying round of the U.S. Open in August in New York.
Roanoke's tournament begins July 29 and the final is Aug. 5. The format will remain the same - a 32-player main draw with open singles qualifying for eight of those main-draw spots, and a 16-team doubles tournament. The field normally includes college players, ranked juniors, some lower-ranked professionals and members of the USTA's traveling team.
"They seem to have gotten the right formula," said Locker of Hunting Hills, noting that the tournament host helps set up lodging, transportation and activities for the touring players. "They do a lot of things for the girls, and that's a big plus."
Locker, who said she decides where tournaments will be held, lauded the volunteers who work the tournaments. Event director Larry Lineberry said he expects between 150 and 200 volunteers to help in Roanoke. And, Locker said, Roanoke is geographically compatible with the summer circuit. Last year, for example, the first tournament was in Florida, followed by two in Alabama, one in Georgia, one in South Carolina, two in North Carolina, one in Indiana, the Roanoke tournament, one in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey.
"We don't like the girls to hopscotch around too much; we like to follow a line," Locker said. "It's just worked out really well [in Roanoke]."
Nobody needs to convince Lineberry of that. The estimated attendance for the eight-day event in 1989 was 3,000, and Lineberry said he expects 3,500-4,000 this year.
The tournament already has drawn much-needed interest and backing from local businesses, although the cost of sponsorships jumped significantly from 1989.
Sawyer and Company, a Roanoke accounting firm, will be the tournament's main sponsor for the third straight year. Seven different local businesses each will sponsor one night during the tournament, paying $1,000 per night until the quarterfinals and semifinals, which cost $1,200; in 1989, the prices were $800 and $1,000. The Bradley Group, which is marketing a condominium complex near Hunting Hills, agreed to spend $2,000 to throw the customary party for the players. Lineberry said 18 sets of four corporation box seats have been sold at $375 each, up from $350 in 1989, and nine pairs of individual box seats have been sold for $190 each, up from $175.
Lineberry said he is most pleased, however, at the brisk sales of what he calls "special promotional packages." A business buying one gets a banner hung during the tournament, an ad in the tournament program and 10 general admission packages good for the entire tournament. Cost: $275, up from $250.
The price apparently hasn't outweighed businesses' interest in the tournament, because Lineberry said 19 packages have been sold, compared with a total of 10 for last year's tournament.
"This is all before the first ball is hit," said Lineberry, whose club is responsible for $3,500 of the prize money; the USTA provides the rest. "[But] it doesn't surprise me. The Roanoke Valley has been untapped for years regarding opportunities for businesses to promote their wares with sporting events.
"I got an earlier start this year, so I was able to devote more time to that aspect [financial support] of the tournament."
The same type of support has helped the tournament make enough money to make improvements. Two years ago, the profits helped install lights on Hunting Hills' courts. Last year's profit, Lineberry said, helped pay for most of an ongoing $10,000 renovation to the tennis clubhouse. Any profit from the tournament, Lineberry said, is used to improve the club's tennis facilities.
"It's easier to do the same job," Lineberry said of Hunting Hills' familiarity with the tournament, "but it's more difficult to improve on it each year. But that's where we see we need to head. We need to improve it each year."
by CNB