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From the Advertiser:
BRISBANE STEALS
SA TENNIS
CHAMPIONSHIP
By LEO SCHLINK
08jul06
INTERNATIONAL tennis in Adelaide has been aced.
The highly successful Adelaide International tournament held at Memorial Drive in January will shift to the $77 million State Tennis Centre in Brisbane after 118 years of consecutive Adelaide events - leaving South Australia's tennis authorities scrambling to find a replacement event.
Seven of the world's top 30 played at The Drive in January. Lleyton Hewitt kick-started his career at Memorial Drive in 1998 while greats Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Goran Ivanisevic and Jim Courier have contested the event.
The tournament will stay in Adelaide until 2008 and its major sponsor - Next Generation - has shown loyalty by sticking with the event until the end.
"It's like grief, really," Tennis SA chief executive Alistair MacDonald said. "It's like we won the first set, lost the second, now we're fighting to win the third to keep an international tournament in Adelaide."
The shift by Tennis Australia means Queensland tennis has been returned to its former glory, with the creation of a new combined men's and women's event.
Brisbane will host events staged on the Gold Coast and Memorial Drive at the new Tennyson stadium.
Brisbane has not hosted an ATP men's event since 1991.
The decision to transfer the Australian Hardcourt Championships - the second-oldest ATP tournament in the world - from Adelaide has infuriated the SA tennis community, even though the event has struggled financially for years.
Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood has had talks with Adelaide tennis identities including current tournament director Mark Woodforde, John Fitzgerald and Roger Rasheed, coach of Lleyton Hewitt.
Tennis Australia, it is understood, will help Adelaide find a replacement but the new event might not be played in January.
First staged in 1890, the former SA Open will be held for the last time in 2008. "The rise of more lucrative overseas tournaments in the lead-up to the Australian Open is increasingly attractive to players looking to prepare for the first grand slam of the year," Mr Wood said.
"We had to change and adjust and provide those opportunities in Australia on the road to the Australian Open. The ATP and WTA (Women's Tennis Association) are driving this and Australia already has a successful combined men's and women's event in Sydney. This a long-term win for the sport. We will have a world-class facility at Tennyson and facilities are what drives future growth. The change had to happen."
Mr Wood and three Australasian tournament directors last week staved off an attempt by the WTA to move the Qatar Open to January in direct competition with the Royal Pines tournament.
The move would have stripped a string of highly-ranked players from the Gold Coast and Sydney tournaments before the Australian Open.
The significance of the Brisbane expansion was measured by the presence yesterday of Premier Peter Beattie, grand slam champions Pat Rafter and Ashley Cooper and Tennis Australia's director of player development Craig Tiley.
Queensland has been without a tennis centre since the demise of outmoded Milton in 1999. The commitment by the Beattie Government to the sport left Tennis Australia with little choice but to reward the state with a plum event.
SA Tourism Commission chief executive Bill Spurr, speaking on behalf of the commission and the State Government, said the tournament was a great loss for SA.
"The tournament had been building up and we were excited about its future here in South Australia, but I guess Tennis Australia had other ideas," he said.
Mr Spurr said the state would move forward despite the loss, building on existing events and attracting new events.
Adelaide Loses Tennis Championship
I have a few things to say about this topic:
First of all, I am very dissapointed with the way this has been reported in the local media. Instead of throwing scorn and vitriol at Brisbane for supposedly 'stealing' this event, it would be more productive if the local media instead focussed their energy on why we lost the event in the first place. Because in this case Brisbane did not steal the event, it was rather a case of Adelaide losing it.
Secondly, I hope that this serves as a wake up call to the State Government as well as the local councils, that apathy and inaction has negative consequences such as this.
And last of all, I hope that we are able to find a suitable replacement with the same international importance. Niche events like international capsicum throwing championships will not do.
First of all, I am very dissapointed with the way this has been reported in the local media. Instead of throwing scorn and vitriol at Brisbane for supposedly 'stealing' this event, it would be more productive if the local media instead focussed their energy on why we lost the event in the first place. Because in this case Brisbane did not steal the event, it was rather a case of Adelaide losing it.
Secondly, I hope that this serves as a wake up call to the State Government as well as the local councils, that apathy and inaction has negative consequences such as this.
And last of all, I hope that we are able to find a suitable replacement with the same international importance. Niche events like international capsicum throwing championships will not do.
Re: Adelaide Loses Tennis Championship
Will wrote:"The tournament had been building up and we were excited about its future here in South Australia, but I guess Tennis Australia had other ideas," he said.
The tournament was dying on its arse for 10 years.
Seems like a replacement event has been found... just not tennis.
Seventh heaven hits SA rugby
WARREN PARTLAND
13jul06
ADELAIDE will be in the world sporting spotlight in April after securing a leg of the prestigious International Rugby Board Sevens World Series.
Just days after losing the Australian Hardcourt tennis championship to Brisbane, South Australia has taken ownership of a round of the exciting rugby series for the next five years.
It is the IRB's second biggest event behind the World Cup, which is held every four years.
The tournament has been programmed for April 7-8 and will attract the leading 16 rugby nations with 42 matches being played.
Yesterday's announcement of the Australian Rugby Union's successful bid, made possible by the financial backing of the state government, follows a visit to Adelaide last week by the IRB.
IRB tournament operations manager Beth Coalter spoke highly of the Adelaide Oval as well as the training facilities available to the teams.
There are only eight cities involved in the series with Adelaide joining London, Wellington, Hong Kong, Dubai and Los Angeles. The homes of the other two legs have yet to be announced.
Premier Mike Rann said the successful bid was a major sporting victory for the state and was expected to generate $6 million in economic benefits.
He said it was also hoped the Wallabies could be lured back to Adelaide, having last played in South Australia when they thrashed Namibia in the 2003 World Cup.
Details of the Sevens tournament have been released on the eve of Fiji's clash with Australia A at Adelaide Oval tomorrow night. Fiji is the world Sevens champions.
"This is the latest in a string of sporting wins for our state, which includes the AFC Women's Asian Cup this month and a Socceroos versus Lebanon qualifier match in August," Rann said.
"And it comes hot on the heels of our commitment to inject $16 million to refurbish Adelaide Oval.
"We showed the world during the Rugby World Cup we in SA can put on a great event with two sold-out games."
ARU chief executive and managing director Gary Flowers said the decision to award Adelaide a leg of the tournament was "great" news for the state and Australia.
He said Sevens rugby had continued to grow and evolve and the ARU was committed to improving its national team.
"This tournament fits in with Adelaide being the festival city," he said. "This will be a festival of rugby over two days.
"There will be high-class rugby played in a party atmosphere. Sevens is a very important part of the global rugby game and is certainly part of the push by rugby to get back into the Olympics.
"It is also important for our team to perform well so we will be making sure there is a lot of effort behind that."
SA previously hosted a sevens tournament in the late 1990s with the Provincial Sevens being contested at Hindmarsh Stadium. That tournament also lasted only three years.
SA Rugby chief executive Rob Nelson is supremely confident the Rugby World Series will be a far superior event.
"This will be part of a global series and is an IRB event," he said. "It will feature the top nations. The provincial sevens served its purpose but this event will involve the very elite.
"It is a significant milestone for SA rugby and provided enormous development opportunities. This can take the sport forward in this state."
Seventh heaven hits SA rugby
WARREN PARTLAND
13jul06
ADELAIDE will be in the world sporting spotlight in April after securing a leg of the prestigious International Rugby Board Sevens World Series.
Just days after losing the Australian Hardcourt tennis championship to Brisbane, South Australia has taken ownership of a round of the exciting rugby series for the next five years.
It is the IRB's second biggest event behind the World Cup, which is held every four years.
The tournament has been programmed for April 7-8 and will attract the leading 16 rugby nations with 42 matches being played.
Yesterday's announcement of the Australian Rugby Union's successful bid, made possible by the financial backing of the state government, follows a visit to Adelaide last week by the IRB.
IRB tournament operations manager Beth Coalter spoke highly of the Adelaide Oval as well as the training facilities available to the teams.
There are only eight cities involved in the series with Adelaide joining London, Wellington, Hong Kong, Dubai and Los Angeles. The homes of the other two legs have yet to be announced.
Premier Mike Rann said the successful bid was a major sporting victory for the state and was expected to generate $6 million in economic benefits.
He said it was also hoped the Wallabies could be lured back to Adelaide, having last played in South Australia when they thrashed Namibia in the 2003 World Cup.
Details of the Sevens tournament have been released on the eve of Fiji's clash with Australia A at Adelaide Oval tomorrow night. Fiji is the world Sevens champions.
"This is the latest in a string of sporting wins for our state, which includes the AFC Women's Asian Cup this month and a Socceroos versus Lebanon qualifier match in August," Rann said.
"And it comes hot on the heels of our commitment to inject $16 million to refurbish Adelaide Oval.
"We showed the world during the Rugby World Cup we in SA can put on a great event with two sold-out games."
ARU chief executive and managing director Gary Flowers said the decision to award Adelaide a leg of the tournament was "great" news for the state and Australia.
He said Sevens rugby had continued to grow and evolve and the ARU was committed to improving its national team.
"This tournament fits in with Adelaide being the festival city," he said. "This will be a festival of rugby over two days.
"There will be high-class rugby played in a party atmosphere. Sevens is a very important part of the global rugby game and is certainly part of the push by rugby to get back into the Olympics.
"It is also important for our team to perform well so we will be making sure there is a lot of effort behind that."
SA previously hosted a sevens tournament in the late 1990s with the Provincial Sevens being contested at Hindmarsh Stadium. That tournament also lasted only three years.
SA Rugby chief executive Rob Nelson is supremely confident the Rugby World Series will be a far superior event.
"This will be part of a global series and is an IRB event," he said. "It will feature the top nations. The provincial sevens served its purpose but this event will involve the very elite.
"It is a significant milestone for SA rugby and provided enormous development opportunities. This can take the sport forward in this state."
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