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TV gives Pasco tennis a shrug
By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, WESLEY CHAPEL -- Saddlebrook Resort owner Tom Dempsey has tried to persuade Pasco County commissioners to finance a tennis stadium with the promise of a nationally televised tournament that would spotlight the county. But broadcasters said Thursday that both the timing and nature of the event thus far proposed, a women's "special event" in November or December, would hurt its chances of being televised. "It's very unlikely for us," Fox Sports Network spokesman Seth Palansky said of televising the Pasco tourney. "You've got hockey in full swing. The NBA. We carry a lot of college football and college basketball programming." Other broadcasters echoed his lack of enthusiasm. But it was the lure of nationwide TV that helped Dempsey gain quick support for his tennis stadium plans last month. "Can you imagine the value of a tour event with the dateline constantly being from the Pasco Tennis Center?" Commissioner Steve Simon enthused a few weeks ago. "Here is national, international coverage." Dempsey said the Women's Tennis Association has ensured Pasco a sanctioned "special event" to be held in November or December at a stadium the county might build with at least $5-million in hotel tax money. Although the event would be scheduled during a break in the women's calendar and wouldn't influence players' rankings, Dempsey promises to draw top talent with the promise of big prize money and television coverage. Fox Sports Network is televising 16 major professional tennis tournaments this year, nine on the men's tour and seven on the women's. Palansky said November and December, being a popular season for many sports, leave little room for tennis. "It wouldn't be something we're likely to pick up. The WTA events we cover are mostly international events," he said. Sports broadcaster ESPN and ESPN2, the top two networks for tennis, including coverage of the Australian Open, echoed the same concerns. Although ESPN is "bullish on the women's tour," these days, the network has rarely broadcast "special events" that don't count toward the tennis standings, spokesman Dave Nagle said. "It's too hard to speculate on hypotheticals," Nagle said of the potential allure of Pasco tennis. CBS Sports and NBC Sports, which have cornered some of the world's top tennis tournaments, were equally non-committal when informed about Dempsey's proposal. CBS broadcasts the U.S. Open in August, men's tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati and the popular Ericsson Open in Miami in March. Spokeswoman Karen Mateo said the network occasionally makes room on its schedule for tennis matches not listed on the official calendar. Among the most recent was a July 2000 match between retired stars Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. "There's too many variables at this point to even talk about it," Mateo said of televising a Pasco event. Dempsey has said the stadium would "globally identify" Pasco in the tennis world, a big part of that identification being television coverage. Asked about the difficulty of landing a network broadcast commitment, Dempsey said he plans to line up sponsors and players many months in advance, giving TV plenty of time to "buy on" to what he calls a "celebrity event." But at least one county commissioner, Ann Hildebrand, questioned whether Pasco should spend millions on a stadium without assurances of nationwide TV exposure. Maybe the county should sit on its pile of tourist tax money, which will grow to almost $6-million by the end of the year, she said Thursday. "In a contract with Mr. Dempsey are we going to get any commitment for TV coverage?" Hildebrand said. "If we're just going to get on the third page of the Pasco Times sports section, that's just not going to cut it." Nevertheless, Hildebrand said she was "cautiously optimistic" about approving the tennis stadium. Dempsey is pushing for a stadium vote as early as August. A majority of commissioners has supported the proposal. PREVIOUS COVERAGE:WTA says it didn't promise tour stop Officials: WTA is economic win Commissioners tentatively approve ad deal for WTA County endorses bid to attract tennis headquarters
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