The governing body of men’s tennis has started an ‘international tender process’ to establish where the ATP World Tour Finals will be held beyond 2020.
Since 2009, the end-of-year tournament has been held at the O2 Arena in London. The tournament features the eight highest ranked players battling it out to win the prestigious event, which has a prize money pool of $8 million. Last year Grigor Dimitrov became the first Bulgarian player to win the title.
There is a chance that The O2 could continue hosting the event, should they chose to join the bidding process. Last year the season finale attracted 253,642 fans. The O2 has proved a hit with its ability to hold a variety of activities within one area. Such as restaurants, bars, tennis related activities and a cinema. Despite its success, the door has been opened for other cities to stage the event.
“Our season-ending tournament has been a remarkable success story since it moved to London in 2009, and we look forward to continuing the tournament’s growth over the next three years at The O2 through to 2020.” ATP CEO Chris Kermode said in a statement published on atpworldtour.com.
“The tournament’s popularity and stature have reached unprecedented heights in London, which has attracted significant interest from potential future host cities over the years. We feel the time is right to undertake this international tender process as we look to secure the event’s future beyond 2020. The O2 has set a very high bar, and we expect that staying in London beyond 2020 will also be among the options for consideration as we go through this process.”
The bidding process will be overseen by Sports Business Group Deloitte. The company has previously conducted a tournament financial review of the ATP and assisted the Belgian capital of Brussels with their bid to be selected as one of the host cities on the 2020 European football championships.
Applicant’s interested have until November 3rd to apply. The ATP will then announce a list of cities that have been shortlisted on December 3rd. A final decision will be made in March 2019.
The ATP World Tour Finals has been held annually since 1970.
List of ATP World Tour Finals host cities
| Location | Years | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 1970 | |||
| Paris | 1971 | |||
| Barcelona | 1972 | |||
| Boston | 1973 | |||
| Melbourne | 1974 | |||
| Stockholm | 1975 | |||
| Houston | 1976 | |||
| New York City | 1977–1989 | |||
| Frankfurt | 1990–1995 | |||
| Hanover | 1996–1999 | |||
| Lisbon | 2000 | |||
| Sydney | 2001 | |||
| Shanghai | 2002 | |||
| Houston | 2003–2004 | |||
| Shanghai | 2005–2008 | |||
| London | 2009–2020 |
