Tennis: Tennis Australia offers $1bn AUD to manage the site of the Australian Open (for 21 years)

Tennis Australia, the Australian Tennis Federation, has offered $1bn AUD (€620m) to the state government of Victoria (Australia) to modernise Melbourne Park, the venue for the Grand Slam tournament the Australian Open, on 23/04/2018. "Tennis Australia is the major tenant of Melbourne Park year-round, not just for the Australian Open, and there is a financial agreement in place," said Tennis Australia to News Tank Football on 03/05/2018.

This offer aims to acquire the management of the three courts for a 21-year lease: the Rod Laver Arena (central court, 14,820 capacity), the Hisense Arena (10,500 capacity) and the Margaret Court Arena (7,500 capacity). As part of the offer, the Hisense Arena would become the Melbourne Arena.

"The Australian Open has grown massively over the past few years and we are now in the unique position of being able to use this experience to benefit the whole community. Melbourne Park truly is the world's best sports and entertainment precinct and our proposal will help bring it to life year round. We've had a lot of positive feedback and are strong in our…