The Volvo Car Open, Charleston’s stop on the WTA Tour, has a new owner from across town.

Ben Navarro, founder and CEO of Charleston-based Sherman Financial Group, has bought Charleston Tennis LLC, the company that owns the Volvo Car Open and runs the Family Circle Tennis Center and Volvo Car Stadium on Daniel Island. The deal was completed Wednesday, The Post and Courier reported.

The buyer is Beemok Sports LLC, and Navarro will own 100% of the company with no partners, a spokesman for the acquisition told the newspaper.

“I’m buying out Meredith and Charleston Tennis LLC,” Navarro told The Post and Courier. He declined to say what he paid.

Who sold

Charleston Tennis LLC had two owners. California-based Moorad Sports Partners, a sports and media investment firm, held 70%. Meredith Corp., the media company that publishes Family Circle magazine, held 30%, according to The Post and Courier.

Meredith formed Charleston Tennis more than a decade ago to run the tennis center, the newspaper reported. Meredith acquired the tournament in 2005, when it bought Family Circle magazine.

The company sold its majority stake effective July 1, 2017, according to a Meredith quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meredith received $600,000 in cash and an $8.5 million note payable in annual installments over eight years, the filing said. It reported a $3.3 million gain on the sale and kept its 30% stake, along with a board seat.

What changes and what doesn’t

Day-to-day operations will not change, the spokesman said. Bob Moran, the longtime tournament director and president of Charleston Tennis LLC, will keep running the event.

“Bob Moran will still run the tournament,” Navarro said.

Volvo Car USA remains the title sponsor. Volvo took over the title from Family Circle magazine beginning with the 2016 tournament, the year after the automaker chose Berkeley County for its first American plant.

The city of Charleston built the tennis center and its 10,200-seat stadium for the tournament’s move from Hilton Head Island in 2001, The Post and Courier reported. The city first leased the complex to Family Circle magazine for 15 years. The lease has been renewed until 2029.

The tournament is the largest women’s-only tennis event in North America, The Post and Courier reported. It has a direct impact of $30 million a year on the local economy through visitors, hotels, restaurants, travel and tourism, according to the newspaper. Tennis Channel televises it around the world.

“Our goal is to continue to grow the tournament’s impact, promote junior tennis in Charleston and make the sport more accessible for all,” Navarro said.

A tennis family

Navarro, 55, also founded the education nonprofit Meeting Street Schools. More than 90% of Sherman Financial’s revenue reportedly comes from its subsidiary Credit One Bank, one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers, according to The Post and Courier. Earlier this year, Navarro was a finalist in the bidding for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

He already owns a tennis venue. His Live To Play Tennis Club on Mathis Ferry Road in Mount Pleasant has hosted two USTA national junior championships and five International Tennis Federation women’s pro circuit tournaments, the newspaper reported.

All four of Ben and Kelly Navarro’s children have played the sport. Their daughter Emma, a junior at Ashley Hall School ranked No. 2 nationally among junior girls, earned a wild card into the main draw of next year’s Volvo Car Open by winning the singles title at the National Girls 18 Clay Courts Championships at the club this summer.

Moran said he had come to know Navarro over the past year through his work in local tennis.

“The opportunity to partner with someone so passionate about tennis and our community is a perfect fit,” Moran said.

WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon welcomed the change. “We are delighted to welcome Ben’s ownership to the Volvo Car Open and look forward to the positive impact this will have on the continued success of one of the premier women’s tennis events in the world,” Simon said.

The 2019 Volvo Car Open is scheduled for March 30 to April 7.