Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

After years of legal wrangling over whether or not Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park will be allowed to upgrade and improve the site of the Miami Open, the tournament’s owners IMG is now investigating the possibility of moving the event to another city.

The Miami Herald has reported tournament director Adam Barrett saying his first choice would be to stay on Key Biscayne but is running out of patience with the Matheson family, which effectively owns the site and is ecologically opposed to any new building.

In a month’s time on December 9 the International Players Championship (the tournament ownership group) will seek to reverse a September 2014 ruling blocks proposed construction on the facility.

Optimism is not high so the search is on for an alternate site and it seems the Unites States Tennis Association’s currently in construction US$60 million new facility in in Lake Nona, Florida, close to Orlando, is a distinct possibility.

The USTA National Campus will not be completed for another year but plans show it will be the largest tennis complex in the United States.

“We love Miami, the community has been very good to us, and we will stay here as long as we can,” said Barrett. “However, it’s about supply and demand, and we face obstacles that may be too big to overcome.

“The public has already voted overwhelmingly in a referendum in favor of us privately funding the upgrades, but we haven’t been able to move forward. People are reaching out to us, and some will take a look.”

The Miami Open annually draws 300,000-plus fans, which would massively interest the city of Orlando. “Our community has a strategic goal of looking for opportunities to attract world-class events and tournaments,” Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer told the Miami Herald.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs added: “USTA is the perfect fit for Central Florida and Orlando. Not only does it expand our global reach for professional, amateur and college sporting events, it provides a perfect mix for our world-class family entertainment and theme parks.”

Barrett concluded: “We are not making threats, not saying if we don’t get this, this and this, we’ll leave. But there are realities we have to face and there are other cities who would love to take this event away from Miami.”

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.