Cincinnati Open Campus rejig nod to history

Article posted by Coliseum, May 24^th, 2024

Image: Cincinnati Open

A new era has dawned. One of the longest running tennis tournaments in the United States, the Cincinnati Open, is undergoing an extensive, campuswide renovation planned to improve the fan and player experiences prior to the expanded 2025 tournament.

‘CINCINNATI OPEN’ stated that the entire campus will be elegantly reimagined with modern stadium façades and extensive landscaping to create a park-like feel throughout the venue. New fan amenities, courts and player facilities will also be added to increase capacity for the tournament’s expansion.

The Cincinnati Open, formerly known as the Western & Southern Open, is an international professional tennis tournament held in Mason, Ohio (US). The tournament was originally called the Cincinnati Open for its first two editions in 1899, but was renamed the Western & Southern Open in 2002. In 2011, the tournament was renamed again to the Western & Southern Open after the men’s and women’s tournaments were played in the same week. However, tournament officials announced in January 2024 that the tournament would return to its original name, the Cincinnati Open, for the 2024 event to be held from August 11^th-August 19^th.

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The Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio (US) has a total capacity of 22,435 seats across its 16 tennis courts and four permanent stadiums. The Center Court has a capacity of 11,435, the Grandstand Court has a capacity of 5,000, the Court #3 has a capacity of 4,000, and the Court #10 has a capacity of 2,000.

Image: Cincinnati Open

‘CINCINNATI OPEN’ further stated that the work represents the next stage of the $260 million investment in upgrades that the tournament Owner Beemok Capital committed to in announcing the intention to keep the Cincinnati Open in its current home for the next 25 years.

The Beemok Capital is a privately held, single-family office based in Charleston, South Carolina (US) that offers financial services.

Asserted Bob Moran, President of Beemok Sports and Entertainment, “We are ushering in a new era at the Cincinnati Open and the complete transformation of our campus will create an unparalleled experience for our fans and the players. Our goal is to provide a best-in-class experience to everyone who touches the Cincinnati Open, and these projects, which are made possible through partnerships with the City of Mason (Ohio), the Warren County (Ohio) and the State of Ohio, are the foundation upon which we will build the next chapters of this storied event’s history.”

The Beemok Sports and Entertainment (BHC) is a hospitality company based in Charleston, South Carolina (US) that creates entertainment, wellness and hospitality experiences. The company was founded in 2021 by Ben Navarro, a businessman and philanthropist, with the goal of connecting people and sharing experiences.

Image: Cincinnati Open

A sleek, continuous façade will wrap both the Center Court and the Grandstand Court in the heart of the new-look campus. To the North, a permanent fan plaza shaded by an expansive canopy will provide a gathering spot for the spectators with additional landscaping to create more green space and modular opportunities for sponsor activations. To the South, a brand-new, 2,000-seat sunken stadium will be added to the campus, making it the fourth largest of the venue’s five permanent stadiums.

The additional stadium is one of the 10 new courts being added to the site to help facilitate the event’s growth to feature the 96-player Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles fields over more days in 2025. In total, the campus will feature 31 courts, up from the planned 21 for 2024.

London (UK)-based the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour (the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men), the ATP Challenger Tour (a series of international men’s professional tennis tournaments) and the ATP Champions Tour (a men’s tennis tour intended for the former tennis professionals who have since retired from the mainstream professional tennis touring).

St. Petersburg (US)-based the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women’s professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future for women’s tennis.

Image: Cincinnati Open

A new, 56,000 square-foot, two-story player center will be among the most significant additions to the site. The world-class facility will include lounge and restaurant space for the tournament’s players and their support teams, wellness and recovery rooms for the players and locker rooms for the coaches. The existing player facilities on the three lowest floors of the Paul Flory Player Center will be renovated to provide additional locker room space and an expanded, state-of-the-art fitness center.

The Paul Flory Player Center is a 52,000 square-foot player and media center facility at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (US). It was built in 2010 by Paul M. Flory, a legendary figure in professional tennis and the Chairman of the Western & Southern Open tournament until his death in 2013. The center is named in his honor.

The other work planned for the campus includes a new, six court indoor facility and the creation of six pickleball and two padel courts on the grounds.

The majority of work to expand the campus will be to the South and West of the venue’s current footprint. Additional parking will be added to the North of the campus and multiple new access points to the parking areas will be created in the coming years.

Expanding the venue has been made possible with the cooperation and support of the City of Mason, Warren County and the State of Ohio.

Maintained Dave Young, Warren County Commissioner, “We are pleased with the progress our partner Beemok Capital is making on our racquet complex and are eager to see the plans unfold for this world-class facility. The 2024 season is right around the corner, which means fans from across the street to across the globe will get to experience some of the upgrades this year. Preserving this international asset was a huge win for Warren County and its partners, the State of Ohio and the City of Mason. I am thrilled that we are moving from proposing a plan that would retain the tournament to executing that plan in realtime, and I cannot wait to see the final result. I am so glad to see the Cincinnati Open stay right here for at least the next 25 years. Tourism is Warren County’s number one industry, accounting for $1.45 billion in economic impact annually. We are looking forward to the tournament’s full expansion in 2025, which is projected to generate more than $150 million in direct and indirect economic output into the region.”

Added Diana Nelson, City of Mason Mayor, “The City of Mason is proud to be a foundational partner with the Beemok team on this development to retain long-term and grow the tennis tournament, while also creating a vibrant, inclusive sports campus with year-round activities. This is a legacy project for Mason and the region, bringing new energy and activity to this walkable entertainment district.”

The 2025 site improvement planning is being led by Gensler, a global architecture, design and planning firm, while the construction will be overseen by Barton Malow.

Gensler is a global design and architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, California (US). It is the largest architecture firm in the world by revenue and number of architects. In 2022, Gensler generated $1.785 billion in revenue, the most of any architecture firm in the United States.

Southfield (US)-based Barton Malow is a construction company that has been operating for 100 years and has over 3,500 employees across North America. They provide construction management, design-build, general contracting, technology, and rigging services.

Commented Kristin Byrd, Design Director and Architect, Gensler, “We are excited to partner with the Cincinnati Open to design a new vision for the tournament and create enhanced fan and player experiences. The campus transformation will include comprehensive upgrades and improvements making an enormous impact for many generations to come. When complete, the grounds will feature an increase in green space and trees. This will be paired with an updated campus aesthetic showcasing clean lines, simple, elegant forms and a fresh, neutral color palette that will beautifully complement the park-like setting. Our design team focused on creating an authentic sense of place by incorporating the regional building materials, engaging with the local artisans and honoring the tournament’s history through layering of art and historical iconography – all with a modern twist.”

Exulted Jerry Mullins, Senior Project Director with Barton Malow, “On the day we learned about this project, we were excited by the passionate vision the Beemok Capital and the Gensler architectural team had for this iconic venue. Holding to our core purpose of building people, projects and communities, Barton Malow understands the incredible impact this project has on the worldwide tennis community as well as the Southwest Ohio region. With the help of many local partners and subcontractors, our team is honored to help bring Beemok’s vision of transforming the Cincinnati Open campus to a modern facility while carefully respecting the tournament’s rich history of 125 years in Ohio.”

More information on the 2025 Cincinnati Open Campus Transformation, including a listing of the partners involved in the project, can be found here.

The 2025 Cincinnati Open Campus Transformation projects are in addition to the previously announced work that is currently underway to upgrade the seating experience within the Center Court and the Grandstand Court, adding four practice courts, renovating the Crosscourt Suites and the Top Deck lounge areas, and adding a new hospitality suite overlooking Grandstand Court.

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