The Western & Southern Open will soon have something in common with Wimbledon, the French Open, Australian Open and U.S. Open: two weeks of play.

In two years, Cincinnati’s 124-year-old tennis tournament will expand to two weeks, Grand Slam-style.

Beemok Capital, the tournament’s owner, reached a deal with Warren County and Mason, Ohio, officials this week to keep the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center for the next 25 years. As part of the deal, $260 million will be invested into improving the complex and the tournament will expand to two weeks in 2025.

The 2023 Western & Southern Open drew nearly 200,000 fans. The nine-day tournament has an estimated $70 million economic impact on the region. Expanding it to two weeks could support $152 million in total economic output, a study by the University of Cincinnati Economics Center found.

“It was fantastic when the (Cincinnati) Reds had the All-Star Game here. It’s almost like we’ll have an All-Star Game in Warren county for two straight weeks every night,” Warren County commissioner Dave Young, who helped negotiate the deal, said.

Bringing out-of-town spenders to the region

Half of 2023 tournament attendees came from another state, according to ticketing data provided by Bob Moran, president of Beemok Sports & Entertainment. The 2022 Western & Southern Open drew fans from 20 countries and all 50 states.

Unlike a day-trip to Kings Island or a Cincinnati Bengals game, out-of-town guests will spend and sightsee in the region for two full weeks with the extended tennis tournament.

“This is very much, people are coming here and staying,” Young said. “Hotels are full. Restaurants are full. People are shopping in our stores. They’re here for something (that’s) more than a day.”

Out-of-state spenders also generate sales tax that helps fund local governments, Young said. The UC Economics Center study projects non-local attendees will directly spend around $56 million on hotels, food, retail and more while in Greater Cincinnati for the expanded two-week tournament.

Investments in the complex ‒ which Moran said will start with new stadium seats, more shade fixtures, expanded food offerings and enhanced entertainment space – also means jobs.

Moran said it’s too soon to calculate how stadium improvements will impact jobs. According to UC’s study, expanding the tournament to two weeks will directly support 685 jobs with earnings of $18 million.

“There is a real spillover effect,” Young said. “Everybody is winning and getting something out of this tournament.”

‘It’s not just about … the tennis tournament.”

The Western & Southern Open won’t be the only event benefitting from renovations at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Young said there are 47 events currently planned for the complex outside of the two-week tournament.

Beemok will be tasked with booking other events and tournaments at the complex year-round, and that revenue will help maintain the site. Beemok will not profit from the complex outside of the Western & Southern Open, Young said.

According to UC’s study, hosting 10 amateur tennis tournaments at the complex each year could have a direct economic impact of more than $5.8 million.

“The county gets even more of an economic impact, because now there’s hundreds of thousands more people coming into town for those (other) tournaments,” he said. “And Beemok wins those (user) fees that are generated, keeping the facility a world-class facility.”

Moran also oversees the Credit One Charleston Open tennis tournament in Charleston, South Carolina. Credit One Stadium, the tournament’s venue, hosts entertainment events year-round.

“Those types of things, that’s what Beemok does really, really well,” Young said. “That’s why it’s not just about the two weeks of the tennis tournament.”