Tennis Australia (TA) lead executive Craig Tiley has pledged to continue pumping cash into the Australian Open so that the tournament remains one of the highlights of the country’s sporting calendar.
Usually the first major sporting event of the year, the 2024 Australian Open concluded on Jan. 28, attracting a Grand Slam record 1. 1 million fans, while the tournament is estimated to generate around A$500 million ($330 million) for the tournament. the State of Victoria every year.
Despite its success, Tiley says he recognizes the need for TA to remain objective and ensure the Australian Open continues to evolve despite the demanding situations of Saudi Arabia and China.
The former has designated tennis as its next investment target, following primary moves in spaces such as soccer, golf and boxing, and could potentially level lucrative tournaments.
“We’ll never take it for granted,” Tiely told the AAP. “Let me tell you why it’s always a threat: because anyone can just make the decision that ‘we have a chance with $100 million in prize money and me. ‘I’m going to put the 32 most sensible players and they’re all guaranteed to make $2 million. “
“It’s a threat. People can do it and there’s nothing stopping them from doing it in January.
“So when the [Victorian] premier [Jacinta Allan] said the Australian Open was in jeopardy, it’s not so much the risk of being moved as it is the risk of something overtaking it at the same time.
“That’s why we want to invest in this growth, invest in the infrastructure of the neighborhood, continue to evolve and grow.
“We’ve got a very aggressive growth strategy.”
The Australian Open, which TA has been billing as ‘the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific’ over the last two decades, is not going anywhere for the time being. Melbourne Park will continue to host the major until at least 2046, having extended its contract with the Victorian government.
Innovations for the 2024 edition included starting the tournament on a Sunday for the first time in more than a century, a move that drew more than 80,000 additional spectators. Fans were also allowed more freedom to move between games on the show courts, while Melbourne Park offers live entertainment, corporate meeting rooms and children’s playgrounds to complement action on the court and encourage people to stay for longer.
This year, the tournament prize pool increased from 10 million Australian dollars (6. 6 million US dollars) to 86. 5 million Australian dollars (57. 1 million US dollars).
The heavy spending on the Australian Open is in stark contrast to the scenario TA found itself in at the height of the pandemic, which caused the national government framework to pile up debt. TA monetary accounts filed with Asic in December 2023 revealed that the state government had written off a A$43 million ($28. 4 million) loan given to the Covid organisation.
Tiley said TA recovered quickly, repaid its loan to the government and took decisive action at the time to alleviate monetary concerns.
“We had a freeze on head count for a year and a half where there was no increases in staff salaries, or there was minimal I should say,” continued Tiley.
“But we took some steps to keep our basic prices down across the board. We introduced initiatives and then made the resolution this year to invest to accelerate the expansion of the AO.
There are no plans to expand the Melbourne Park venue of late, and while Tiley noted that TA has “invested almost all of our profits” to make the Australian Open an elite spectacle, the organisers have also “ensured that we can distribute enough budget to our member associations to grow the game with overhead and a programme that athletes develop”.
Access more comprehensive content, exclusive reporting, unprecedented business intelligence, and networking benefits to cross the next frontier of sports and make more informed decisions with a SportsPro Premium membership. Learn more here.
Do you enjoy SportsPro content? Create your account and receive the latest news.
Do you already have an account? Sign in now
Already registered?
Not a member? Discover SportsPro+ now
Just to subscribe to our SportsPro newsletters and limited content?Create an account.