Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, is the new owner of the BNP Paribas Open and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The BNP Paribas Open is the most attended tennis tournament in the world outside of the four major events.
Ellison, who formed Tennis Ventures, LLC, purchased 100% of the assets from the previous ownership group, which featured Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore, George Mackin and Bob Miller of Tennis magazine/tennis.com, the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and tennis legends Pete Sampras, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King.
“I am very excited to become the new owner of the prestigious BNP Paribas Open,” said Ellison in a statement released by the tournament on Tuesday.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I love the game of tennis. I play it regularly, watch it frequently, and now look forward to being in Indian Wells every March to host the greatest players in the world. This tournament has an incredibly solid foundation, including one of the best venues and management teams, and I intend to build on that and continue the vision of being one of the greatest international sporting events worldwide.”
The tournament originally came to the Coachella Valley in 1976, and in 1981 Charlie Pasarell became Tournament Director. He and Moore formed PM Sports Management in 1985 and have since been owners and managing partners. They will continue to manage the event and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for Tennis Ventures, LLC. Steve Simon will continue as Tournament Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and former owner George Mackin will be Director of Sponsorship Marketing.
“As we embark on the 35th anniversary of the BNP Paribas Open and the tenth anniversary of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Raymond, the previous owners and I are thrilled to have Larry Ellison as the new owner,” said Pasarell. “He is as passionate as we are and desires to continue with the vision and the goals we have established.”
The BNP Paribas Open is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and is the largest combined ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event in the world. The event will be celebrating its 35th anniversary March 8 – 21, 2010, with defending champions Rafael Nadal and Vera Zvonareva and more than 300 of the best men’s and women’s tennis players in the world.
Good News. Hopefully he will make it an even better tournament. Paribas Open and IWTG are great.