State of Connecticut plans to buy New Haven Open Rights

The state of Connecticut is planning to purchase the rights to the New Haven Open women’s tennis tournament for $618,000 to prevent it from relocating to North Carolina.  

A 2008 ecomomic impact study found that the tournament generated approximately $26 million in the region, almost 300 jobs and $1.1 million in state tax revenue.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said that the Capital Region Development Authority will meet on October 17th and vote on purchasing the WTA event’s rights from the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

A statement from Malloy said: “Economic development for our urban environments, and the state as a whole, is a fundamental component of the state’s agenda and we view the New Haven Open as another chapter in bolstering this effort. We know that Connecticut is a great state for women’s sports, and this is another fantastic way to ensure that continues to be the case in 2014 and beyond.”

Malloy’s budget director, Ben Barnes, revealed the USTA agreed to seel the tournament to Winston Salem in North Carolina, where a men’s tournament run by the ATP is held during the same week in August.

The ATP rejected proposals for a combined men’s and women’s tournament in North Carolina, which has given Connecticut a window to keep the event at the Connecticut Tennis Center.

Barnes said: “In this case, we’re making a relatively modest investment, given the size of the economic development return that this brings to the community.”

The tournament’s attendance figures have been steadily declining over recent years – 45,796 attended this year’s tournamwent, down from 76,480 in 2010, though men also played that year. The proposed Connecticut deal has been criticised by State House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, who said: “What do we know about running a tennis tournament? What we do know is that the tournament has been around and run by people far better equipped than we are to run it, and has not been successful. What makes us as state government think that we can now own it and turn it around?”