Tickets go on sale for expanded Indian Wells

With a capacity of 16,100, the Main Stadium at Indian Wells is the second-largest
in the world for tennis behind Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Daily tickets and daily-double packages for the 2014 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells went on sale today, tournament director Steve Simon announced.

   The most-attended ATP World Tour and WTA tournament in the world, the BNP Paribas Open is scheduled for March 3-16 in the Palm Springs area. Last year's tournament drew more than 380,000 fans. 

The outside of the Main Stadium at Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   The BNP Paribas Open offers more than $12 million in prize money and is the only tournament in the world with the Hawkeye line challenge system on all courts. The Main Stadium, with a capacity of 16,100, is the second-largest in the world for tennis behind 22,547-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
   Last year's champions were Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Bob and Mike Bryan, and Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

   Here's a link to a story about my eventful road trip to the 2012 BNP Paribas Open:
   http://norcaltennisczar.blogspot.com/2012/03/stars-are-super-at-indian-wells-motel.html

   The Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the site of the BNP Paribas Open, is being expanded in time for next year's tournament. A permanent Stadium 2 will feature 8,000 seats and three gourmet restaurants – Nobu, The Chop House and Piero’s Pizza Vino – on the concourse level overlooking the court and grounds. 

   The expansion also includes a marquee site entrance on Washington Street with a new box office, a new 19,000-square-foot shade structure identical to the one built in 2012, four more practice courts and an additional grass parking space for up to 2,000 cars.
   Larry Ellison, listed by Forbes as the sixth richest person in the world, bought the tournament for $100 million in 2010 and prevented it from leaving the country. The co-founder and chief executive of Oracle, a software company, has an estimated net worth of $36 billion. Also an avid tennis fan and a high-level player, Ellison lives near Stanford University in Woodside.

   Daily tickets for the Main Stadium range from $13 for the first Thursday evening session to $100 for loge seats for the championship weekend. 

   The daily-double package provides the same seat (suite, box or loge) for day and evening sessions.

   Local residents, students, seniors, military and USTA members can receive 30 percent off on loge seats in the Main Stadium for select sessions.

   Daily reserved tickets for section 100 in the lower bowl of the new Stadium 2 begin at $120 for all matches on Wednesday, March 5, and continue at $140 from Thursday, March 6, through Wednesday, March 12. Access to section 200 in the lower bowl and section 300 in the upper bowl will be general admission seating, and available to anyone holding a ticket to the tournament. 

   Any ticket to the BNP Paribas Open provides access to the general admission sections of Stadiums 2 – 9 for day and evening sessions and the Main Stadium during day sessions. Classic series, mini, group and hotel packages are still available, as well. 

   For more information, call the Indian Wells Tennis Garden box office at (800) 999-1585 or (760) 200-8000, or visit www.bnpparibasopen.com, which has a complete listing and description of all ticket packages and pricing.