View it as a political power play or an outright act of leverage, but the French Tennis Federation is contemplating moving Roland Garros from its present place in Paris — if the Paris City Council does not approve the current French Open expansion project within the year.
French Federation general director Gilbert Ysern called out the city council today to either approve the planned expansion of Roland Garros, which would include a new centre court with a retractable roof, or risk losing the tournament to another site.
"It seems that the mayor's entourage has become more hostile to our project — which was not the case when we launched it," Ysern told the media in comments published by Reuters. "Add to that the residents' opposition and we are now forced to look for other options, including that of leaving the premises."
While it seems unlikely such a move would actually occur, one of the factors at issue is the Paris City Council and French government's investment of an estimated $29 million in the project. The FFT suggests the city council is dragging its feet on final approval of the project and the threat of a move may be one measure to pressure the Parisian government on that approval.
In May, the FFT announced it had hired an architect for the project and planned to begin construction in either 2010 or 2011. The plan calls for a new center court complete with a retractable roof in time for the 2013 or 2014 French Open.
The new center court will seat about 14,600. Initially, officials hoped to complete the stadium in time for the 2012 Olympics, however since Paris lost out on its bid to host the 2012 Games the project is now targeted for completion by 2013 or 2014. French Federation president Jean Gachassin said in May the new court will also eventually host the Paris Masters, the annual October indoor event that has been staged in Bercy for years.
"This project is very important for French tennis, our tournament's future depends on it," Gachassin said.
Reigning Roland Garros champion Roger Federer has said in the past he supports the idea of constructing a roof at Roland Garros to prevent the schedule from becoming shower-stalled.
"I'm always for having the option you know. Look, the TVs and fans come to the stadium and plan a day at Roland Garros, for instance, they would be so happy to see us play no matter what conditions," Federer said. "They are outside, you know. So that's why Australia is so good, you know. They always have the opportunity. The same with Hamburg, you know. Other tournaments have it, too. Wimbledon has made a big step forward, in my opinion, and I think it would be good for every tournament to have something like this. I know budget doesn't always allow it, but I would guess this tournament has the cash, so it should not be a problem."
The cost for the French Open roof, which is designed to close in about 10 minutes, has been estimated at around 120 million euros, according to Gachassin.
It is the latest proposed expansion for Roland Garros, which was built in 1928 with three courts on eight acres of land and now houses 23 courts on 24.7 acres.
The announcement means three of the four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, Wimbledon and Roland Garros — will have roofs over their center courts by 2014, leaving only the US Open as the only uncovered Grand Slam center court.
The USTA has contemplated the concept of adding a retractable roof to the 22,547-seat US Open Stadium court for several years. Last year, the USTA began accepting architects plans for the project in a move some saw as another sign the USTA was heading toward committing to a roof.
However a few factors: the immense cost of financing such a project, the fact historically rain has not been a major factor in US Open play and the notion that the existing stadium is not exactly conducive to a roof may be giving the USTA second thoughts.
The cost of adding a roof to the current structure is estimated at $100 million. The USTA has not figured out how it would pay for the roof .
