Ion Tiriac has leased the license for the tennis tournament in Bucharest to Marbella, Spain. The tournament might take place again in Bucharest in 2019, if a new modern court is built. Currently, the central court of the BNR complex has not received the notice for operation from the Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU).
Ion Tiriac has rented the license to Marbella for the next two years, but Romanian fans might enjoy again men’s tennis as of 2019, ProSport informs.
Sources close to the organizers have revealed that the holders of the Cotroceni complex have drawn a plan to build a modern central arena. The old court, which has a capacity of 5,000 seats, would be demolished and in its place will be built a court according to the latest standards.
The Nastase-Tiriac Trophy tournament was held in 2016 on an improvised court, having two stands and a capacity of 2,000 seats. The singles champion title was won by Fernando Verdasco (Spain), while in the doubles event team the winners were Florin Mergea/Horia Tecau (Romania).
A month ago, businessman Ion Tiriac informed that “the tournament is for sale.”
“I did all I could to keep this tournament going on. I bought the license from a Romanian, I paid all the debts and we’ve had a decent tournament in Bucharest. This is the last year the tournament will be played in Bucharest, I can’t afford to waste my name, my position, our past. (…) I sold the Dubai tournament, which was mine for 12 years on leasing. This tournament is also for sale. BNR is not to blame. Unfortunately this year there will be few spectators, but this is the current situation,” Tiriac said.