LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — After more than a decade as the venue for Nitto ATP Finals, the O2 Arena in London is facing some competition for hosting the event.
On Wednesday, The ATP, governing body of men’s professional tennis, announced the opening of an international tender process to determine the future location of the ATP World Tour’s season finale, the Nitto ATP Finals, beyond 2020.
The Nitto ATP Finals are the year-end finale to the men’s professional tennis season, and one of the most high profile events in professional tennis.]
According to a statement from ATP, they have selected The Sport Business Group at Deloitte to oversee the tender process and bidding opened on Wednesday with an expression of interest phase.
Any interested parties must submit their official applications by 2 November 2018, after which a short list of potential candidate cities will be announced on Friday 14th December, with a final decision to come not before March 2019, ATP said.
The tennis tournament is big business, attracting more than 220,000 fans to the event annually and given its profile, it is likely that cities such as Beijing or Abu Dhabi may offer bids backed by hefty state subsidies, which London would be hard-pressed to replicate.
However, Chris Kermode, the British executive chairman of the ATP, is still in London’s corner. In a statement to Reuters, Kermode said:
“Our season-ending tournament has been a remarkable success story since it moved to London in 2009, and we look forward to continuing the tournament’s growth over the next three years at The O2 through to 2020,”
“The tournament’s popularity and stature have reached unprecedented heights in London, which has attracted significant interest from potential future host cities over the years.
“We feel the time is right to undertake this international tender process as we look to secure the event’s future beyond 2020.”
