ROME (AP) — Running out of room and with ticket demand soaring, local organizers want to move the Italian Open from its historic Foro Italico venue to a new location near Rome’s main airport.
“We can’t fit in here anymore,” Italian tennis federation president Angelo Binaghi said Sunday. “The hunger for tennis makes this the biggest sports event in Italy.”
The 10,500-seat Foro Italico stadium, inaugurated in 2010, isn’t big enough, Binaghi added.
Total attendance for the tournament was set to surpass 200,000 on Sunday, up from 175,000 last year, with about 10 million euros (more than $11 million) in ticket sales, up 23 percent from 2014.
With Rome bidding for the 2024 Olympics, Binaghi suggests building an entirely new tournament venue and national training center near the Leonardo Da Vinci airport, which could also be used for the games.
The Foro Italico, built under Benito Mussolini in the 1920s and 30s, has hosted the Italian Open since 1935. A historic monument, laws prevent certain types of construction.
The tournament is run by both the federation and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
The stadium was built by CONI, and Binaghi said the original plan contained an additional 2,000 to 3,000 seats, which would have made the facility much more appropriate.
There have been promises to add a roof to the stadium.
“Every year we try to invent new solutions but there’s not that much more that we can do,” Binaghi said, adding that he has discussed the situation with Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago.
“We have to see if we need to divorce or continue this relationship (with CONI),” Binaghi said.
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