Post by tall_one on Jul 3, 2005 9:04:33 GMT
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships to be Held in Madrid, Spain in 2006
Prestigious season-ending event to move to world-class venue in Olympic-contending city as part of Tour's strategy to showcase Championships around the world; storied event to be significantly enhanced by proven Madrid promoter and Sony Ericsson title sponsorship
WIMBLEDON, England – Following an extensive global bidding process that began early this year, the 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships, the richest and most prestigious women’s professional sports event in the world, was awarded to Madrid, Spain, the Tour announced today.
As part of the Tour's strategy of showcasing the coveted season-ending event in key markets around the world, the Championships will take place next year at the Madrid Arena, a world-class venue that seats more than 10,000 spectators and has been the home of the ATP Masters Series Madrid since 2002. Sports Promotions Inc. (SPI) will promote the Championships through a significant marketing and advertising campaign, further enhancing the global prestige and exposure of this $3 million tennis event, which features the top eight singles players and the top four doubles teams in the world.
"We are thrilled to bring the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships to one of Europe's leading business, cultural and sporting capitals," Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said. "Madrid has a great track record of organizing world-class sporting and tennis events. With the enormous popularity of women's tennis today, we are confident that the Championships in Madrid will help us further increase the global excitement and interest in our sport."
"As title sponsor of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, we are committed to doing our part to make the 2006 Championships in Madrid a world-class event in every respect, including in the areas of marketing and promotional support," said Sony Ericsson President Miles Flint.
Madrid, the capital of Spain with a population in excess of three million, was chosen after an extensive and competitive selection process over the past several months that involved 18 interested parties. Madrid was awarded the event because of its international stature, its reputation as a preeminent sports locale and the proven track record of Sports Promotions and the Madrid Arena in hosting successful tennis events such as the ATP Madrid Masters Series, one of the world's most successful tennis tournaments that attracts more than 100,000 fans yearly. Madrid also continues the event's tradition of being hosted in internationally renowned locations, joining New York, Munich and Los Angeles, which has been the event's home since 2002.
"We are very pleased with this great news," said tennis icon Ion Tiriac, a consultant to Sports Promotions. "Since we started our project in Madrid with the ATP Masters Series, our goal has been to bring the very best in professional tennis to Madrid. Being able to host the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in 2006 allows us to achieve this goal. I am convinced that Madrid will embrace this world-class event and make it a big success."
"The city of Madrid is honored to have been chosen as the host of this highly sought-after event, which further underscores Madrid’s standing as the preeminent international location for global sporting events such as the 2012 Olympics," City of Madrid representative Patricia Lazaro said. "The international and cultural flair of Madrid, along with its strong business sector, sports atmosphere and reputation as a leading tourist destination, makes it the perfect home for a sporting event that features the leading professional sport for women in the world. The city and its wide infrastructure look forward to supporting and embracing with open arms the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships next year."
"The country of Spain and the city of Madrid have fantastic tennis fans," said Spanish tennis legend and four-time Grand Slam singles champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. "The players who qualify for the Championships in 2006 will have an unforgettable experience in one of the world's best tennis facilities, which is surrounded by incredible sites and wonderful culture."
The move to a major European market such as Madrid represents another upward turn for the storied Championships, which showed significant increases in attendance and fan interest last year in Los Angeles and now is buoyed by the backing of Sony Ericsson, which is driving women's tennis toward innovative horizons in terms of cutting-edge technology, music, fashion and design since signing a landmark global title sponsorship with the Tour in January. And the timing of the move coincides with a swell in the growth and popularity of women's tennis worldwide as evidenced by the Tour's many highly-marketable and internationally-recognizable star players, its increased attendance and television ratings and its recent haul of new marketing partners.
This year's Championships are expected to be another stellar competition in the event's long and distinguished history, which dates back to 1972 and has included the all-time greats of the sport, such as Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Held at the glitzy STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles, the event will once again feature the eight greatest singles players of this year and the four preeminent doubles teams in a round-robin format over six days, with the singles winner collecting a luxurious Porsche Cayenne S to be donated to charity and $1 million in prize money, equaling the largest winner's purse in the history of women's sports.
Prestigious season-ending event to move to world-class venue in Olympic-contending city as part of Tour's strategy to showcase Championships around the world; storied event to be significantly enhanced by proven Madrid promoter and Sony Ericsson title sponsorship
WIMBLEDON, England – Following an extensive global bidding process that began early this year, the 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships, the richest and most prestigious women’s professional sports event in the world, was awarded to Madrid, Spain, the Tour announced today.
As part of the Tour's strategy of showcasing the coveted season-ending event in key markets around the world, the Championships will take place next year at the Madrid Arena, a world-class venue that seats more than 10,000 spectators and has been the home of the ATP Masters Series Madrid since 2002. Sports Promotions Inc. (SPI) will promote the Championships through a significant marketing and advertising campaign, further enhancing the global prestige and exposure of this $3 million tennis event, which features the top eight singles players and the top four doubles teams in the world.
"We are thrilled to bring the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships to one of Europe's leading business, cultural and sporting capitals," Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said. "Madrid has a great track record of organizing world-class sporting and tennis events. With the enormous popularity of women's tennis today, we are confident that the Championships in Madrid will help us further increase the global excitement and interest in our sport."
"As title sponsor of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, we are committed to doing our part to make the 2006 Championships in Madrid a world-class event in every respect, including in the areas of marketing and promotional support," said Sony Ericsson President Miles Flint.
Madrid, the capital of Spain with a population in excess of three million, was chosen after an extensive and competitive selection process over the past several months that involved 18 interested parties. Madrid was awarded the event because of its international stature, its reputation as a preeminent sports locale and the proven track record of Sports Promotions and the Madrid Arena in hosting successful tennis events such as the ATP Madrid Masters Series, one of the world's most successful tennis tournaments that attracts more than 100,000 fans yearly. Madrid also continues the event's tradition of being hosted in internationally renowned locations, joining New York, Munich and Los Angeles, which has been the event's home since 2002.
"We are very pleased with this great news," said tennis icon Ion Tiriac, a consultant to Sports Promotions. "Since we started our project in Madrid with the ATP Masters Series, our goal has been to bring the very best in professional tennis to Madrid. Being able to host the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in 2006 allows us to achieve this goal. I am convinced that Madrid will embrace this world-class event and make it a big success."
"The city of Madrid is honored to have been chosen as the host of this highly sought-after event, which further underscores Madrid’s standing as the preeminent international location for global sporting events such as the 2012 Olympics," City of Madrid representative Patricia Lazaro said. "The international and cultural flair of Madrid, along with its strong business sector, sports atmosphere and reputation as a leading tourist destination, makes it the perfect home for a sporting event that features the leading professional sport for women in the world. The city and its wide infrastructure look forward to supporting and embracing with open arms the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships next year."
"The country of Spain and the city of Madrid have fantastic tennis fans," said Spanish tennis legend and four-time Grand Slam singles champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. "The players who qualify for the Championships in 2006 will have an unforgettable experience in one of the world's best tennis facilities, which is surrounded by incredible sites and wonderful culture."
The move to a major European market such as Madrid represents another upward turn for the storied Championships, which showed significant increases in attendance and fan interest last year in Los Angeles and now is buoyed by the backing of Sony Ericsson, which is driving women's tennis toward innovative horizons in terms of cutting-edge technology, music, fashion and design since signing a landmark global title sponsorship with the Tour in January. And the timing of the move coincides with a swell in the growth and popularity of women's tennis worldwide as evidenced by the Tour's many highly-marketable and internationally-recognizable star players, its increased attendance and television ratings and its recent haul of new marketing partners.
This year's Championships are expected to be another stellar competition in the event's long and distinguished history, which dates back to 1972 and has included the all-time greats of the sport, such as Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Held at the glitzy STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles, the event will once again feature the eight greatest singles players of this year and the four preeminent doubles teams in a round-robin format over six days, with the singles winner collecting a luxurious Porsche Cayenne S to be donated to charity and $1 million in prize money, equaling the largest winner's purse in the history of women's sports.
