Improvements made to Indian Wells Tennis Garden ahead of BNP Paribas
Some of the world’s best tennis players will be coming to Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open, which kicks off Monday.
Many new improvements have been made to Stadium 1 ahead of this year’s tournament. The “Super Screen” is now 33 percent bigger and is now a more permanent part of the structure. “The whole building has been renovated. We have 21 new concessions and our suites have been torn down and renovated. We have new bathrooms and all kinds of dining options for everyone,” said Philippe Dore, media and marketing director of the BNP Paribas.
Crews have been working nonstop on the finishing touches at the tennis garden making sure everything is smoothed out and buffed up for the more than 400,000 people expected to show up. Some are coming from all corners of the world to watch the best of the best play tennis.
“My son is coming out from Texas to see the tournament as well and he’s a big (Roger) Federer fan so I want to get him out to see him,” said Keith Stewart, a part-time resident from Palm Desert.
This year there is an interactive fun zone for fans to kick back and play games like 7-on-7 foosball.
A study based on attendance in 2014 found that the tournament brings about $373 million into the Coachella Valley.
The number of fans in attendance fluctuates a bit. In 2014 there were about 431,000 fans at the the tournament. In 2015 that number jumped to about 456,000 and last year there was about 438,000 people.
Organizers are always aiming higher and accommodating people who want to explore the valley during their visit.
“I would like to think it helps everybody with the attendance that we bring, from restaurants to shopping and dining. People make it a trip, and they get travel packages. They will bring the golf clubs and the play golf on Saturday and catch some tennis at night or the next weekend,” Dore said.
Tickets for the tournament are available. Many people chose to wait until the day of to buy to make sure they can watch their favorite tennis star.
