MASON, Ohio — Upgrades at the Cincinnati Open are drawing rave reviews this week from fans of the Mason tennis complex, which has completed about 15% of its planned $260 million renovation. Cameron Hall of West Chester applauded one thing that hasn’t changed. “The price wasn’t too bad,” said Hall, who has attended about a dozen tournaments since his days as a ball boy at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
“I was expecting it to be like a big price increase, but it really wasn’t too bad. It was about what I paid last year for the same section.” And that’s by design, according to Bob Moran, president of Beemok Sports and Entertainment.
The company has used corporate sponsorships, luxury suites and air-conditioned courtside seats to boost average ticket prices without charging more for upper-deck seats. “We’re really working hard to keep our upper seats at the same pricing,” Moran said. “At the end of the day, this is a legacy in tennis that we’re building here.
That outweighs the financial side.” The Cincinnati Open business plan is coming into focus, as South Carolina billionaire Ben Navarro tries to make good on a $405 million investment. The founder of Charleston-based Beemok Capital paid the U.
S. Tennis Association $275 million in 2022 for the rights to host the annual tournament. Last October, Beemok announced an additional investment of $130 million, which was matched by state and local governments in Ohio.
But instead of seizing every revenue.