Tennis Australia is preparing to spend at least double its original budget to stage this summer’s Australian Open in Melbourne, with strict biosecurity protocols significantly increasing the cost of the event.
TA initially expected the tournament to cost between $25 million and $30 million, but its chief executive, Craig Tiley, said the organization now expects those expenses to total more than $60 million.
“You have to organize charter flights, you have to bring the players in, you have to put them up in a hotel,” Mr Tiley told ABC Sport.
“We have to lock the hotel a few weeks before to prepare it as a quarantine hotel.
“You have to have a catering service, you have to provide security, work with the police and the judiciary to ensure that this environment is absolutely the safest.”
All players will be required to have a negative test before boarding chartered flights to Australia and will be required to test negative upon arrival and throughout the tournament.
“For this whole process and procedure, we have worked closely with the organizations in Canberra, an Australian organization, who are very knowledgeable about outbreak management,” Mr Tiley said.
“So it’s going to cost over $60 million just to make sure we can host the Australian Open.“
The huge cost will deplete TA’s rainy day fund, which was established 10 years ago to prepare for circumstances such as this.
It will cost more than $60 million to make the event at Rod Laver Arena COVID-safe. (Reuters: Hannah McKay)
“We’re also going to take some form of concessional loan, because we’re going to need all of that to get to a point where we can have a good baseline, a decent baseline so that we can deliver on our promises again in 2022,” Mr Tiley said.
“It’s extremely tight.”
Funding for local clubs remains
The majority of Australian tennis revenue is generated during the two weeks of the Australian Open tournament, with Tennis Australia then distributing the funds to state agencies.
Mr Tiley said TA was committed to maintaining this funding.
“It’s not just about being a viable organization, it’s also about an organization that has a platform for growth into the future, and this is an opportunity where we want to be in a position where we can invest in that growth,” he said.
“And that is why we will maintain the levels at the grassroots tennis level, so that there is no impact on grassroots tennis.”
Lessons learned from other “bubbles”
The success of tennis’s other major tournaments during the height of the coronavirus pandemic this year has provided valuable lessons for Tennis Australia on how to manage a tournament with biosecurity protocols.
The US Open successfully concluded with only two positive COVID-19 tests, while the French Open returned 10 positive cases.
Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said despite costs exploding, funding would continue to flow to grassroots tennis clubs. (PAA: Tennis Australia)
Both of these events took place in cities struggling with high daily numbers of COVID-19 cases and took place with limited crowds.
The Australian Open will have 50 per cent capacity for crowds and Mr Tiley said other protocols have been adopted around the world.
“It’s a very fluid environment and very uncertain, it’s a very contagious virus,” he said.
“You have to do everything you can (from) players in their bubble wearing masks, physically distancing, practicing good hygiene, not mingling, not hanging out with each other,” he said.
“We have designed (the bubble) in such a way that it will probably be the safest place in the world, because there will be very strict and strong protocols.”
Big names expected
Swiss star Roger Federer has not played in a major tournament since playing at Melbourne Park earlier this year and underwent knee surgery this year but has not ruled himself out of the tournament.
American Serena Williams is set to attend the 2021 Australian Open tennis tournament at the Rod Laver Arena. (PAA: Dave Hunt)
The 20-time major champion has resumed training in Dubai.
“He told me the other day that the February 8 date was probably a better option for him because it just gave him a little more time to prepare,” Mr Tiley said.
Serena Williams, a 23-time major tournament winner, is also expected to play, and all of the world’s top 100 women will enter the tournament.
