Monday, July 27, 1998
Workers serve up tennis meet
PREPARATION: Year-long effort needed to produce one-week Mercedes-Benz Cup at LATC
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Staff
The court is freshly repainted and all the booths are finished. A whole side of a stadium stand has been erected from the ground up.
By the time you come to the Mercedes-Benz Cup as a spectator, everything will be ready to go, like clockwork. But have you ever wondered who makes this clock tick? What goes on behind the scenes, before the glamour and excitement of elite tennis tournaments? Who operates the spotlight?
Tennis is the name of the game, and everyone works to make sure that the sport takes center stage - but there are a lot of sideshows and juggling acts that happen before the event.
"It's virtually a year-round activity," said tournament director Bob Kramer, who is one of several full-time staff members specifically designated to organize the Los Angeles tournament.
"After we got done with last year's tournament, we started right away trying to sign up new players and so forth for this year," he said.
Kramer and assistant tournament director Khim Stithem are responsible for overseeing every aspect of the event. They're also the ones who meet with players' agents and get them to commit to Los Angeles for the week. They say serious talk starts around the time of the U.S. Open, which is in late August.
"We're fortunate because it's a wonderful place to play, nice time of year and the players have a very nice time when they come to Los Angeles," said Stithem. "We've actually acquired a few players for next year already."
And there are tons of other things that need just as much attention. The full time staff focuses on marketing for sponsors, ticket sales, general administration and operational and promotional areas - all in all the efforts include about fifty staff members and 500 volunteers.
Plus, UCLA provides venue and facilities management, which includes parking and ticket offices. For that, the university gets about 30 percent of the tournament proceeds.
Near the small yellow ball flying back and forth across the net, you'll see a lot of brand names, logos and promotional booths. Sponsorship is a big deal in an event such as this, and it's mainly up to Julie Sternberg, the marketing director, to get as many sponsors as she can.
Most of the time she says she makes cold calls to companies, and they don't always respond immediately in her favor.
"Sometimes it takes a couple of years to build a relationship with a potential sponsor," Sternberg said. "We have them come out to take a look at what we have here. They may not be a sponsor that year, but we look to foster that relationship and hope that they'll come on board a couple of years down the road."
For providing financial assistance, corporate sponsors get their company name out to spectators, viewers, listeners and readers who follow the event. Sponsorship packages range from having a display booth by the stadium to being part of the tournament media advertising campaign.
For example, Mercedes-Benz is the biggest sponsor, thereby its name and logo are branded as the tournament's. As a major sponsor, it gets major exposure every time the tournament is mentioned. And like other big sponsors of the event, it receives tickets, hospitality and other perks.
The organizers of this tournament go through a yearly cycle, experiencing the busiest time starting a couple of months prior to the actual event.
"And from then on, it gets busier," Kramer laughed. "Things change to an operational mode about a week before the tournament when the fences come down, court's repainted and temporary structures are brought in. Then, you feel like the circus has arrived in town - and away we go."
The workload is in all the details - finalizing last minute tidbits, from the officials to food service to ball kids. Did you know that 5,400 tennis balls will be used here this week? How about that three tons of fruit will be served to players? These are just a few of the things organizers needed to cover.
"It's one of those things where you watch the calendar go by and say, 'Oh my gosh, I only have so many weeks left!'" Stithem said.
"But last week, I was feeling a sense of calm," she continued. "We have things pretty much lined up and on track - at least, we think we do. Things are going pretty well."
So the week they've been working on all year has finally arrived. But they won't be shining in the spotlight - maybe in perspiration, but not in the spotlight. No, the spotlight goes to the players, and the people who work behind the scenes are aware of what an influence these athletes can have on southern California tennis fans.
Besides improving upon the previous year's tournament, the organizers, who work in behalf of the tennis association, have a goal to promote greater interest and participation in tennis.
"A live tennis match is one of those things which can really energize people," Kramer said. "The kids, ball boys and fans are getting an extra boost to their enthusiasm because it's exciting to see the best players out there performing like no others can. And once they're interested and want to pursue tennis, we'll have all the necessary developmental programs to follow through."
BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
Norman Perry helps set up for the Mercedes-Benz Cup.