- April 26, 2024
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USTA officials say it’s rare for a city to support a tournament as much as Palm Coast does.
Two tennis professionals at the Palm Coast Tennis Center have recently resigned, but the USTA Futures event scheduled to take place in town later this month is still a go, officials confirmed this week.
Ken Obermeier, who was the city’s superintendent of tennis, also served as the tennis director for the USTA Men’s Futures tournament. This year will be the third year the tournament is held in town.
Obermeier was key in luring the tournament to Palm Coast from a city in South Florida two years ago.
Meanwhile, daily operations of the center continued to cost more than revenue, City Manager Jim Landon said.
“It’s been three years and it wasn’t growing as anticipated,” Landon said.
Kemper Sports was directed to take over operations at the tennis center late last year, and so Obermeier resigned. Upon leaving, he informed the USTA that he would no longer be the tournament director and suggested potential sites for relocating the tournament, if necessary.
“I discouraged them from (moving the tournament) this year because it’s too short notice,” Obermeier said Tuesday. Obermeier has since accepted a tennis director job at a private club in Grand Blanc, Mich.
Brian Earley, director of the USTA Pro Circuit, said Tuesday that it’s not uncommon for a change in management of a tournament.
“We try to deal with (the changes), and we have policies and procedures that we follow,” Earley said via a phone interview. “And in this case, it worked out quite well for us.”
Palm Coast’s tournament is the fourth tournament in the January circuit.
Rich Stanfield, general manager of Kemper Sports, said his wife, Deborah Stanfield, will serve as tournament director this year.
This year’s tournament, which features a $10,000 purse, will take place Jan. 27 through Feb. 5, at the Palm Coast Tennis Center, 1290 Belle Terre Parkway.
Valuable ATP points are on the line.
Danielle Gooding, of the USTA, said Palm Coast remains a top location for the tournament.
“The city is behind the tournament, and that’s of great value because we don’t often see the cities put their full support behind an event,” she said.
Rich Stanfield agrees. He hopes to continue to grow the tournament.
“The USTA is extremely happy with how the event has been run here,” Stanfield said. “We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from the players, which is key to how you continue to draw these players in.”
Contact Andrew O’Brien at [email protected].
