source : the age
It’s the middle of the day at Rod Laver Arena and world No.1 Jannik Sinner is battling it out against Dane Holger Rune – a hot ticket if ever there was one. But out in the lower rink, with the best view of court, there are large clumps of seats with blue covers branded “AO Reserve” sitting empty.
This is Tennis Australia’s newest premium offering with 500 seats set aside at centre court for tennis fans who buy premium hospitality packages sold as “Club 1905″.
“If you want the best seats in the house, we are going to pair it with the best hospitality in house,” says Fern Barrett, head of Premium Experiences at Tennis Australia.
Some of the best AO Reserve seats in the house are vacant. Credit: Eddie Jim
Club 1905, named in honour of the first year of the Australian Open, provides tennis fans with allocated seats and access to the astonishingly opulent Club 1905 dining rooms, complete with outdoor terrace overlooking Garden Square.
It seems more than a few patrons were a little too enamoured with the food and beverage offering, overseen by top-seeded chef and maitre d’ Martin Benn and Vicki Wild.
Inside the opulent Chandelier Room at the premium Club 1905.Credit: Eddie Jim
During a private tour at 2.30pm on Monday, Open Season saw several tables of patrons thrilled by the quality of the luxe food offering lingering after lunch in the opulent surroundings, rather than heading into Rod Laver Arena to watch the actual match.
Tennis Australia would not comment if the distinctively-badged seats were previously allocated to other corporate sponsors or to the ticket-buying public.
“With this new strategy, we’ve realigned the locations of our seats between different stakeholder groups,” Barrett says.
Inside Club 1905, there are soaring arches, huge crystal chandeliers and plush, blue velvet banquettes.
Tickets, which include the meal plus tennis, cost from $900 for one day to $30,000 for admission every day of the two-week tournament.
“It’s essentially a tennis enthusiast that wants to buy into this,” Barrett says. “They are tennis aficionados, they love their tennis; the ticket in the arena is really important to them.”
LAVER OUT, COURT IN
It’s always a thrill to see tennis legend Rod Laver sitting courtside in his namesake stadium but this year, there will be no sightings of the two-time calendar grand slam champion and winner of 11 major singles titles.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be there for the first grand slam of the year. While disappointed to miss #AO25 and interact with tennis fans in Melbourne, I will be watching from home and cheering on the players as they battle for glory,” Laver announced on social media.
Laver was in good health but the 85-year-old had decided not to make the long trip from his home in California, a Tennis Australia source said.
It is the first time in a decade that Laver has not attended the Open but sources said Margaret Court, a calendar grand slam champion and winner of 24 major singles titles, is expected to attend soon.
The Open has a habit of not pre-announcing when Court, a Pentecostal Christian with controversial views on same-sex marriage and transgender children, is invited as an official guest of Tennis Australia chair Jayne Hrdlicka. But last year, the champion had no problems drawing attention to herself. As Open Season reported at the time, her mobile phone rang loudly when she sat in the front row to watch a tense match between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz.
Fan ban
It’s not just Palestinian flags which are banned at Rod Laver Arena – branded paper fans are also forbidden.
Old-fashioned paper fans have been a hot accessory at the Open to combat humid conditions.
Between sets, a flurry of fans can be seen flapping in the crowd like butterfly wings.
However, champagne house Piper-Heidsieck’s red paper fans emblazoned with its logo, popular with patrons in previous years, have vanished. Sponsors have been told not to provide attendees with fans.
Open attendees are bringing their own paper fans, or improvising with cardboard from home. Fans are also on sale at the AO shop, and Melbourne retailer Haus of Dizzy has a pop-up shop where it is selling paper fans emblazoned with “Kiss my ace”.
The ban also extends to branded seat cushions which were previously given away to attendees by sponsors ANZ and Emirates.
Staff at the Emirates marquee have been fielding queries from fans looking for seat cushions but it’s a no-go from Tennis Australia.
“As we move towards a more sustainable Australian Open, giveaways on site have been discouraged,” a Tennis Australia spokesperson said.
MUSICAL LOVE LETTER
Open Season was pondering what to order at the Emirates bar, when up sidled musical theatre hunk Rob Mills.
Mills, who starred as William Shakespeare in the revisionist musical, &Juliet, and has served as King of Moomba, ordered a beer for himself and a sparkling for his journalist partner, Georgie Tunny.
Mills revealed exclusive details to Open Season of his new passion project, a musical performance encapsulating the best of Australian music. Think Skyhooks and the Easybeats.
Mills told us it would be a “love letter to the mix tapes of Australia”.
“It’s the songs that have shaped our culture and landscape,” he said.
Mills has been writing the show and hopes to launch it later this year.
“It’s 10 years since I did a one-man show,” he said.
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