The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, the only ATP tournament in USTA Southern, along with the Cellular South Cup on the WTA circuit, will remain in Memphis, Tenn. despite being sold.
Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E) President and CEO Greg Jamison announced that SVS&E has partnered with a group of investors from Memphis, to purchase the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships ATP men’s professional tennis event, The Racquet Club of Memphis and the Cellular South Cup WTA women’s professional tennis event. The local ownership group, Golden Set Holdings, LLC, will be headed by Doug Carpenter and Brian Sullivan, advertising executives in the Memphis community. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SVS&E is the parent company that oversees all facets of business operations for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League and multiple sports properties including the SAP Open ATP Men’s professional tennis tournament held annually at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in northern California.
Both the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup are held annually the week following the SAP Open on the year-long, worldwide ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tours. The tournaments will be played February 13 – 22 in 2009. Next year will also mark the first that the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships will be designated as a “500 Level” series. The upgrade in tournament status will increase the tournament’s total prize money and will help draw a deeper and higher caliber player field creating an even more competitive tournament.