The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Empty seats, yet no tickets at Chennai Open

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 02, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Empty seats, yet no tickets at Chennai Open

Meera Srinivasan

Many denied a chance of watching the match as some who purchased season tickets stayed at home

We are trying to address this problem, says Tamil Nadu Tennis Association CEO

— PHOTO: R.RAGU

AVOIDABLE VOID: Spectators watching a match at the Chennai Open on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: “Sorry, no tickets” – this was commonly heard at the entry point of the Nungambakkam Stadium, the venue for Chennai Open, on Tuesday. However, a significant number of seats remained vacant during the matches.

For many tennis buffs, who were hoping to catch some action of the Chennai Open live, this was a major let-down.

“I could not plan in advance. As these are the initial matches, I thought I could try my luck, but seems like I didn’t have any,” said Rajesh, a college student.

He was not the only one who went back pouting.

Many like him, were denied the chance of watching a live match, possibly because some who purchased season tickets chose to stay at home on the New Year day or may be, tickets were given out to corporates and they decided to come for the bigger matches scheduled to be held later this week.

System needed

“If there is some system to check in advance how many of those using complimentary passes plan to make it, others like me, who are dying to watch a match, could purchase it here on the day of the match. The organisers should have anticipated this,” said R. Lavanya, a tennis lover.

Watching Rafael Nadal play or witnessing what led to Marcos Baghdatis’ defeat could be immensely exciting.

But, not all had the opportunity. The empty rows of yellow, green and brown seats would have certainly looked a lot better had they been filled, a spectator said.

Tamil Nadu Tennis Association’s CEO Hiten Joshi said, “We are trying to address this problem. We would certainly like more people to get to see the matches. But in the case of those who have purchased season tickets, it is their choice.”

Tournament organisers IMG’s representatives were not available for comment.

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