The WTA Finals could potentially move to Charlotte, North Carolina in the coming years. The tournament stayed in the United States for the most part, besides moving to Spain, Qatar, Turkey, China, and Mexico on occasion. It could be hosted at the Specter Stadium from 2027 onwards, as the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) suggests. The Specter Stadium is home to Michael Jordan’s former NBA team Charlotte Hornets.
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Michael Jordan never played for the Charlotte Hornets, formerly known as the Charlotte Bobcats, but had a majority stake there for over a decade. The SBJ report also indicates that the WTA Finals won’t just go to Charlotte for a year. They are pretty adamant that wherever they go next, they will stay for three years at least. However, they won’t immediately move.
Since the move is for a minimum of three years, the Specter Stadium wants to make a significant impact on the WTA Finals. Hence, a $215 million renovation is going on. This is part of the $275 million the stadium received from the city of Charlotte. The Specter Stadium is 18 years old and has a seating capacity of 19,077 to 20,200 for NBA and college basketball games.
Jordan bought the minority stake in 2006. He then went on to be the second-largest shareholder behind Robert L Johnson. Jordan took full control over the basketball side of the operations. He was also going to be the part-owner of the team, but talks failed when he was refused complete control of basketball operations. In 2019, he sold a minority of his owned stake to Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim. From a minority, his stake eventually went up to 80% and then to 89.5%.
Why the 2023 WTA Finals was a disaster?
The 2023 WTA Finals took place in Cancun, Mexico. It was criticized by numerous coaches and players for several reasons. Aryna Sabalenka, two-time champion of the Australian Open, Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur, Elena Rybakina and Marketa Vondroudova are some of the names who revolted against the Cancun-based tournament. Complaints ranged from stadium conditions to inconsistent surfaces and many more.
Four other cities – Riyadh, Ostrava, Cluj-Napoca, and Washington DC were in contention to host the 2023 WTA Finals before Cancun won it. The venue was built on the Paradisus Cancun Hotel for $6 million and it seated 4,300 people.
Although 2027 is afar, many players can’t wait to welcome this change with open arms. These are the same players who’ve had problems with Saudi Arabia hosting it. ‘Sportswashing’ is the term applicable to Saudi Arabia’s erasure of human rights violations to invest heavily in sporting tournaments. WTA was lauded by human rights activists for suspending its operations in China just a few years ago.
Now, they are on the brink of heavy fire for being in talks to conduct the 2024 WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia. Former legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are the most vocal protestors of the same, including LGBTQ rights.
