Larry Ellison Becomes A Tennis Titan
We knew tech billionaire Larry Ellison was into yacht racing but he is also a tennis enthusiast. This week he announced that he bought the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters event and the stadium where it is played. The tennis event will be held this year from March 8-21 in the Californian desert. Ellison bought the tournament and its grounds at Rancho Mirage from owners and founders Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore, former players and principals of PM Sports Management. He may have spent as much as $100 million on the facility. In a press release Ellison said he loves tennis and looks forward to being in Indian Wells each March to host the tournament.According to an article in The Desert Sun, Indian Wells city officials are happy that Ellison is on board and hopeful that he will turn the Indian Wells Tennis Garden into a premier entertainment venue. There is also hope that the project will be beneficial to the entire Coachella Valley and that the stadium will become more than a one-event venue. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden opened in 2000 and has also hosted concerts including Eagles, Tom Petty and Andrea Bocelli and an annual Phoenix Suns NBA preseason game. Last year's BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament at Indian Wells was won by Rafael Nadal.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bill Dec 27th 2009 4:02PM
Yikes, talk about money to burn. I could think of about 100 million better causes than self indulgence to a whim.
Carl Jan 26th 2010 5:23AM
Larry Ellison epitomizes the worst in American greed and has ruined the America's Cup for ever. We used to have a great sailing competition, now we just have a revolting display of financial power. Whoever thinks of Larry Ellison in association with sport has no idea of what true sport is about.