World-class tennis facility proposed for Charlotte’s River District

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Plans to bring an international tennis tournament to Charlotte are in the works, and developers and investors are hoping to win over the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to support a public-private partnership.

It’s called Project Breakpoint, and developers hope it can be the home of The Western and Southern Open.

Project Breakpoint would see the construction of a new tennis campus in River District and would include four stadiums, five-match courts, and practice facilities --- in total the number of courts would be around 40.

🤔 What’s the River District?

There are other opportunities for things like an amphitheater and other public use of the campus outside of tennis purposes.

The City of Charlotte’s Jobs and Economic Development Committee along with Mecklenburg County’s Economic Development Committee met for a joint session on Wednesday morning to learn more about the idea --- and how much it would cost.

Ford Perry, the Chief Operating Officer of Beemok Captial, told the committees the company acquired the rights to the tournament last year for several hundred million dollars.

Now they are considering Charlotte as the new home for the event, but other cities are still in the running. The tournament is currently held in Cincinnati, OH, and Beemok is considering the possibility of keeping it there as well.

Perry said the economic impact of the campus and the tournament would bring in approximately $300 million annually to the city and county, and drive Charlotte forward as a sports destination.

The estimated development cost of the facility is $400 million and Beemok would be responsible for 2/3 of the costs and is asking for public contributions of the remaining 1/3.

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