Roland Garros Could Retain French Open
The French Open could still remain at the current Roland Garros site rather than being relocated to Paris’s suburbs.??
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) has been granted use of the Jean Bouin stadium that provides space for 17 courts next to Roland Garros.??
Organisers of the tournament have been thinking of ways to expand the current stadia, but plans have always stalled due to opposition from the public and environmentalists.
??’We were granted a concession to the Jean Bouin stadium, which is huge because it means 17 courts some 100 metres from Roland Garros. Obviously, there is a soul at Roland Garros. We have to take this into account,’ said FFT president Jean Gachassin of the idea.??
A final decision over the venue will made in February 2011 and an upgraded site, in the centre of Paris or the French capital’s suburbs, should be ready in 2015 or 2016.
??Roland Garros has been the home to the French Open since it started 85 years ago and attracts 450,000 spectators during the fortnight it takes place.
However, the FFT hasn’t ruled out moving the Open to the suburbs with sites at Marne La Vallee, Gonesse and Versailles under consideration.
