Tennis brought him here. Now, Malcolm Graham wants to bring W&S Open to Charlotte

Tennis brought Malcolm Graham to Charlotte in the first place, so it’s fitting the City Council member took up the mantle of bringing a top-tier tennis tournament to the city.

Graham, a Charleston, S.C., native, moved to Charlotte in 1981 to play for Johnson C. Smith University. Decades later, he’s still in the Queen City and still an avid tennis player, often taking his racket to a local park on weekends.

And if the chair of the city council’s economic development committee has his way in what’s been dubbed “Project Breakpoint,” he and his fellow tennis enthusiasts will have a new place to play and watch Charlotte’s tennis scene grow.

That’s not to mention the world tennis superstars who will travel here to compete.

“This is a huge opportunity for our community in general and specifically for the travel and tourism industry,” he told the Observer.

Project Breakpoint would bring a sprawling new tennis complex and the Western and Southern Open to Charlotte’s River District. The 2023 tournament ended Sunday, with Novak Djokovic winning the men’s title and Coco Gauff the women’s.

The complex would contain four “major stadiums,” including a 14,000-seat center court; more than 40 hard, clay and indoor tennis courts; an indoor pickleball facility; four outdoor pickleball courts; and a 45,000-square-foot “player/academy building,” according to a July presentation to the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners.

It would also have a park, an amphitheater and “greenway trail connectivity.”

The tournament would have an estimated annual economic impact of $275 million and bring 60 full-time, year-round jobs with an average salary of $60,000 to $85,000 to Charlotte, deputy county manager Leslie Johnson said during the July presentation.

At that same county commission meeting, Calvin Davis, a longtime fixture in Charlotte’s tennis community, shared his support for the project. With Graham, Davis is one of Charlotte’s biggest champions to move the tournament here.

“We are hungry for people who are entrepreneurs of this caliber,” he said of the team behind Breakpoint.

Who runs the Western and Southern Open?

Beemok Capital, a South Carolina-based company, acquired the rights to the Western and Southern Open from the United States Tennis Association in 2022. It first raised the possibility of bringing the tournament to Charlotte in a May meeting of the Joint City and County Economic Development Committee.

Ford Perry, Beemok’s chief operating officer, said at the time it would be a $400 million project and that the company wants Mecklenburg County, the city of Charlotte and North Carolina to cover a third of the costs for the project.

Graham was at that presentation, saying the project “will be a generational opportunity for our city, county and state.” And, he added, the community has the resources to provide what Beemok is asking for on its timeline.

Perry, in his presentation, said Beemok wanted financial incentives approved by the end of the summer, when it plans to make its decision on where to host the tournament.

Graham said he expects Beemok to announce a final decision after the just-concluded 2023 Open in Ohio — “maybe before early fall.”

“We’re cautiously optimistic about our chances,” he said.

Beemok did not respond to questions from an Observer reporter about when a decision will be announced.

The company was founded by Charleston-based businessman and philanthropist Ben Navarro, who previously bid to buy the Carolina Panthers and bought the Volvo Car Open tennis tournament.

He moved his Sherman Financial Group to Charleston in 2004, the Post and Courier reported previously, and founded Meeting Street Schools alongside his wife.

Is the Western and Southern Open moving to Charlotte?

The Charlotte City Council in June approved spending up to $65 million to help entice Beemok to execute its proposal in the city. And the county commission followed in July, approving spending up to $30 million on the project.

Graham is “cautiously optimistic” the state will come through on funding as well.

But Charlotte faces pushback from the tournament’s current home: the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. And the winner of the women’s tournament, Gauff, issued a vocal plea on the court after this year’s event to keep the tournament in its current location.

“I’m excited to see how this tournament continues to grow, and hopefully in Cincinnati,” Gauff said to a round of cheers.

The Mason, Ohio, City Council in June pledged $15 million in economic development incentives to keep the tournament, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, while a member of the Ohio legislature told the Enquirer “additional state help” to come would include $25 million for the tournament’s current home “and a pot of $1 billion” for other related projects.

Enquirer sports columnist Jason Williams said in a Sunday column he believes Ohio should throw its hat in the ring for another tennis tournament if the Open moves to Charlotte, a move he wrote “seems likely.”

It’s common for cities to vie against each other for events such as the tournament, Graham said.

“We will focus on controlling things that we can control right here in North Carolina and Charlotte,” he said.

What would W&S Open mean for Charlotte tennis?

The tournament would be a great fit for Charlotte, Graham said, because it’s “a sports town.”

“It’s in our DNA,” he said. “And we have every other major sport except professional tennis.”

It would be especially meaningful for those in the community “with an interest in tennis,” he added, noting that he’d play at the new complex if it comes to fruition.

Davis, who’s worked with young tennis players in and around Charlotte for decades as a coach, said he was pleased to hear about Beemok’s emphasis on education and inclusivity, especially for African-American children.

What’s more: the company contacted Davis soon after proposing Breakpoint, he told the county commission in July, and brought him to Charleston to see another of their facilities.

“I was astounded when I saw it. I have not seen anything like it,” he said of the Meeting Street Academy, which was founded by Navarro.

Bringing a major tournament such as the Western and Southern Open would also elevate Charlotte’s status on the national and even international stage, Graham said.

“Peer cities like Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Montreal, Miami, all hold these types of tournaments, and so this is a unique opportunity for our community,” he said.