Within the wide cultural and sporting offer of Miami is the ATP Master 1000, a very prestigious sporting event within professional circles, but almost unknown to the general public. When tennis tournaments are mentioned, Wimbledon or Roland Garros usually come to mind, with less intensity the Miami ATP. If we investigate its history, it is evident that the growth of the tournament goes hand in hand with that of the city.
First, it is important to clarify what are the levels of tennis tournaments in the ATP. The most prestigious, and well-known are the four Grand Slams: Wimbledon, Roland Garros (France), US Open (held in New York) and the Australian Open. They award the highest prizes and the highest number of points for the world ranking. At the next level are the ATP Masters 1000, of which the Miami tournament is part and which is considered the Fifth Grand Slam.
Historia del ATP Máster 1000 de Miami
This tournament was founded in 1985 by the Buchholz brothers to take advantage of the boom that the city experienced in that decade, in its beginnings it was thought as the fifth Grand Slam and the one that opened the season. They negotiated with the ATP and WTA to take over the prizes in exchange for a share of the television rights, tickets and organization of the tournament for the next 15 years. The two associations agreed.
The year of its inauguration the Master 1000 Miami was played in Delray Beach. The following year in Boca Raton. Finally, in 1987, it settled definitively in Key Biscayne in the Crandon Park stadium, an islet near the south of Miami ceded by the Matheson family in the forties to the city, but reserving the right to decide the use of the land.
The popularity of the event was growing steadily year after year, going from 125,817 spectators in 1985 to 388,734 in 2019, of which twenty percent are foreigners. Such an increase brought with it the problem of stadium adequacy, and reflects Miami’s steady growth in immigration. The city tried to build a new stadium under a budget of twenty million dollars (20M $USD), but in 1993 Bruce Matheson sued the county to prevent its construction.
From this point the projects to modernize the facilities in which the tournament was held were always on the table of discussion of the city authorities. The last attempt was in 2013 when a fifty million dollar (50 M $USD) project was presented, which included the modernization of the main stadium and the construction of three new permanent courts. The proposal had the support of seventy percent of the population, but not that of the Matheson family. So the project was suspended. Basically, such a cosmopolitan city must choose very well public real estate projects such as stadiums
The situation endangered Miami as the host of the Master 1000, it was urgent to build a new stadium. In 2015, IMG executive Adam Barrett said, “I don’t think without these changes the tournament can continue to be held in Miami.” But Serena Williams came to his defense, demonstrating the city’s growing importance, publishing an open letter in the New York Times in 2016. One of his arguments was Miami’s quality as a hotbed of new talent such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.
In 2017 Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, proposed the adaptation of one of the NFL stadiums as a new host. The proposal was accepted and one of the most modern tennis complexes in the world was built, where all services are located in one place: eighteen (18) practice courts, terraces for spectators, capacity for 300,000 people, etc. Another example of the growing importance of Miami worldwide.
Nueva sede
The new venue has created a festive atmosphere with food trucks, graffiti, the proximity of spectators to players, gyms, more space for advertising, etc. Reflecting at the same time the evolution of the city: full of life, cosmopolitan, open to tourism, open to immigrants and new cultures, of sustained growth, increasingly sophisticated with the very particular chic touch of Miami.
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