Sarasota Open makes significant financial investment in United Tennis Club

Jeff Russell remembers when the Sarasota Open was only a fledgling tournament, without a reputation or guarantee of long-term success as an ATP Challenger Tour event.

Russell, who co-owns United Tennis Club and Academy, coached Robert Kendrick at the inaugural Sarasota Open in 2008 at United Tennis, which was the Racquet Club of El Conquistador at the time.

Three years ago, Russell bought United Tennis Academy, along with Gabriel Trifu, with lofty ambitions. The Sarasota Open had jumped around Manatee and Sarasota counties, and he wanted to bring it back. There was an element of nostalgia, but attracting an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament would help overhaul the venue into one of the region’s premier venues.

“They’re doing most of the heavy lifting on renovations,” Russell said.

The Sarasota Open will be back home this spring and, Russell hopes, for the foreseeable future. The tournament reached a two-year agreement with Elizabeth Moore, a local philanthropist and the event’s new title sponsor, which will bring the open to United Tennis Club and Academy in Bradenton after two years at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.

Moore, who is a member at United Tennis, is in essence paying for some renovations at her club, while also bringing the tournament to a familiar site. Her sponsorship agreement, the value of which has not been disclosed, will bring both the open to UTC for the next two years and a nearly $100,000 investment in the club.

The Sarasota Open has paid for a new set of lights on the main court — a $70,000 investment itself — plus new offices. The central court also will be renamed James T. Driscoll Stadium in honor of tournament director Tony Driscoll’s late father. Smaller renovations, such as the resurfacing of four courts to be used during the Sarasota Open, are the only infrastructure expenses the club will foot itself.

“Obviously, the Sarasota Open doing the renovations for us was great,” Russell said, “but the Sarasota Open started there in the first year of its existence.”

Driscoll wanted to bring the event back closer to central Bradenton and Sarasota, where past studies have shown the majority of the tournament’s ticket sales have come. The early signs have been encouraging for the Open — United Tennis’ member allotment of tickets sold out within days and Driscoll has told Russell tickets are moving, “very briskly.”

The addition of lights, which were absence at Lakewood Ranch, also should lead to an increase in ticket sales. When the tournament was held on Longboat Key, nighttime matches under the lights at Longboat Key Club were always the best attended during the week, Driscoll said, and on weekends the nighttime matches are beneficial to concession sales when spectators are eating dinner or buying drinks.

Driscoll Stadium will be fitted with bleachers seating 1,000 spectators, and each night from April 17-22 a pair of matches are scheduled not to begin before 5 and 7 p.m. For the later rounds, Driscoll expects the bleachers to be filled.

“It’s going to be a really great atmosphere for those night matches,” Russell said. “It’s a party.”

For 10 years, the Sarasota Open has been perhaps the most high-profile tournament in the region. The Challenger Tour event provides a path for victors to reach the French Open, and past winners include Nick Kyrgios, Sam Querrey, James Blake and Kei Nishikori. Mischa Zverev, last year’s champion, seized momentum from a 2016 victory to beat then-No. 1 Andy Murray at the 2017 Australian Open.

This year’s draw is heavy on young Americans, including Michael Mmoh, Noah Rubin, Reilly Opelka and Frances Tiafoe. Bradenton’s Sebastian Korda has also been granted a wild-card entry into the field.

“We’ve got a lot of good young Americans in the draw this year,” Driscoll said.

The Sarasota Open’s investment in United Tennis is sizable considering it’s only locked into the venue for two years, but both sides are optimistic about locking in to a longer deal. Russell is hopeful for an announcement, “in the very near future.”

Ultimately, though, Russell said it will probably come down to Moore’s involvement. Right now, she wants the tournament to be at the club she calls home and as long as her name stays at the front of the tournament’s name Russell expects it to remain at United Tennis Academy.

“If we get the type of long-term deal that I think we’ll be able to get we’ll be able to do some more permanent things,” Russell said. “We’re going to try to keep it there as long as we can. ... We’d like to see it grow even more.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Sarasota Open makes significant financial investment in United Tennis Club."