First phase of $260M Cincinnati Open campus renovation is done. Take a look

Posted by Admin August 8, 2024 Tennis

First phase of 0M Cincinnati Open campus renovation is done. Take a look

MASON, Ohio – Fans at this year’s Cincinnati Open will get to see the first of several upgrades to the Lindner Family Tennis Center’s $260 million campus renovation.

Cosmetic upgrades, new fan and player areas and expanded hospitality offerings mark the first phase of the revamp led by the tournament’s South Carolina-based owner, Beemok Capital. But the biggest campus changes, which include a new stadium and indoor playing facility, will come in 2025.

Groundbreaking on next year’s improvements could start as soon as Aug. 26, Jansen Dell, the tournament’s director of design and construction, told The Enquirer.

“As soon as this (tournament) is over, the construction has to start,” Beemok Sports & Entertainment President Bob Moran, who moved to Greater Cincinnati last May, echoed.

Beemok agreed to keep the Cincinnati Open in Mason rather than move the tournament to Charlotte, North Carolina after Mason, Warren County and Ohio officials offered $135 million to purchase and renovate the stadium. Cincinnati corporate sponsors also got behind the tournament, as did community support. Ticket packages sold out in just two-and-a-half days this year, compared to two-and-a-half months in 2023, Elizabeth Desrosiers, the tournament’s director of marketing and communications, wrote in an email.

Here’s what’s new this year and what’s coming in 2025.

New and luxury seating

The Center Court bowl has all new seating, including stadium seats replacing bleachers. Lower bowl seats have padded seat bottoms and premium seating areas have extra-padded seats. Premier box seats have been upgraded to include a seat-cooling feature.

Most of the seats in the Grandstand Court are also new, including padded seats in the lower bowl and suite-style seats along the north baseline.

The Oasis

Transforming the tennis campus into a year-round venue will mean more food and drink options.

One of those new options opens this year: The Oasis. Part of the redesigned Top Deck at Center Court, The Oasis private lounge is available to ticketholders in sections 209-211 and offers an Italian-inspired menu and drinks.

Renovated Crosscourt Suites

Crosscourt Suites, which overlook Center Court from the southwest corner, look different this year with layout changes and interior renovations.

Center Court suites sold out for the first time in the tournament’s history this March, Desrosiers said.

New P&G Grandstand Suites

Attendance and ticket sales for the Cincinnati Open were comparable to other similar tournaments, Moran said, but “we were behind on the partnership side.”

Cincinnati companies Western & Southern, Proctor & Gamble, Great American Insurance Group, Fifth Third, Kroger and others will sponsor the 2024 event. P&G’s contribution includes the new P&G Grandstand Suites, the first hospitality offerings at that stadium.

New practice courts, fan zone

Four new practice courts this year brings the total number of tennis courts to 21.

Here’s what else fans will see this year:

A temporary fan zone to relax and watch matches and Q&As with players.
Merchandise with new branding, including 125th anniversary merchandise.
A new fan lawn located next to the new practice courts.

What’s coming in 2025? Concerts and a ‘pickleball destination’

Beemok’s full campus renovation will be complete before the 2025 Cincinnati Open. The complex will expand to the south, adding:

10 new courts (31 courts in total).
Fan plaza.
A 2,000-person sunken stadium.
Two-story, 56,000-square-foot player building with an outdoor terrace, lounge, restaurant and fitness center for athletes.
An indoor facility with six tennis courts for year-round play.

With the addition of six dedicated pickleball courts and many tennis courts that can be used for the sport, Warren County Commissioner Dave Young, who led local officials’ effort to keep the tournament, said the complex could become “the pickleball destination of the Midwest.”

The complex will also have two courts for another growing racket sport, padel. According to a January list of places to play published by The Padel State, a website dedicated to the sport, these Mason padel courts would be the first in Ohio.

“We want to be the home of racket sports in the state, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be,” Moran said.

The complex’s three arenas will allow for a variety of concerts, and outdoor tennis courts can also be used to host events such as car shows.

“If it’s a 2,000-person show, we could probably do that in the (new) third (arena). If it’s a 10,000-person show we’d probably do it in the (Center Court) stadium,” Moran said. “It gives us so much diversity as far as the type of music and special events we can do here.”

Events will be booked after next year’s Cincinnati Open.