Local challenger tourney under scrutiny from ATP

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This article was published 12/07/2018 (2885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The future of the National Bank Challenger could be decided this week, as the ATP World Tour has a representative in town to evaluate the event.

The professional tennis tournament has been in Winnipeg for seven years, and organizers have managed to make the limited facilities at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club work. But with the contract for the event up after this weekend, the local tennis community fears there’s a chance the National Bank Challenger will be moved elsewhere — unless upgrades are made or a new facility is built.

“We’re in the eleventh hour right now,” said Mark Arndt, executive director of Tennis Manitoba. “We need to have something in place by next year.”

Eric Lamquet, the senior manager of challenger tournament relations for the ATP World Tour, made the trip to Winnipeg from Monte Carlo, Monaco, to assess the quality of facilities and make suggestions on how the event could be improved. Today, Arndt will be taking Lamquet to a potential new location for the event — one he couldn’t disclose to the Free Press. The potential location isn’t official, as Arndt is still trying to secure the funds to make it happen. Arndt said another potential solution would be to upgrade the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club, as currently, the venue doesn’t have locker rooms, showers or a players lounge. Seating is limited as well.

But despite the limitations, Lamquet credits Arndt and his army of volunteers for finding a way to make it work. They have set up tents for a players and officials lounge, a gym, media room and refreshments. They’ve also fenced off a portion of the spectators’ section for sponsors and VIPs.

“I think it’s a cleverly set-up event with it’s very obvious size restrictions,” said Lamquet, a first-time visitor to Winnipeg. “It’s got a bit of a hobbit village feeling to it, which is not said in a negative way. I just think it is very cleverly set up. And the people are absolutely wonderful and very welcoming, I think that’s what makes half the success of an event.”

Dennis Zivkovic is an ATP Tour manager who works out of the ATP office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He’s at the event serving as the liaison between the players and the tournament. If players have any questions or concerns, Zivkovic is there for them. He said the players having to take a shuttle to the hotel to use a shower isn’t ideal, but overall, the players enjoy playing in Winnipeg.

“Everything seems to be running smoothly and (the players) appreciate that,” Zivkovic said. “They’ll appreciate an organization that is experienced, happy to have them, and go out of their way to show the players they’re welcome in their city and at their event. It’s been positive, really positive.”

There are 163 challenger events all over the world, but Lamquet said there are still places that would love to take one away from a current host city such as Winnipeg. He said the demand for the events is increasing, especially in Mexico, and with the ATP upping its standards for venues in 2019, he said “an expansion of the site (in Winnipeg) would be necessary.”

“But keep the people — that’s half the job done,” said Lamquet on his admiration for the Winnipeg volunteers.

Lamquet couldn’t disclose what changes have been made to ATP’s standards, but said they will be released to the public in the next few weeks. Arndt said he dreams of the day where tents will no longer need to be set up and that all they’d have to do is put up banners and signs to welcome the players from more than 30 countries who play in the tournament. In seven years, the prize money has grown from $15,000 to $100,000, and Arndt hopes the event sticks around so it can continue to grow and become an even bigger tournament.

“I know that given the proper facility, given something that meets the ATP standards and with our volunteers and the committees we have, I know we’ll hit a home run with this tournament because we’ve demonstrated that over seven years we’ve put on a good show with the limitations.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @TaylorAllen31