The Family Circle Cup, the women’s tennis tournament that has carried the same sponsor’s name since 1973, will become the Volvo Cars Open next spring.
Meredith Corp., which publishes Family Circle magazine, announced Monday that Volvo Cars of North America will be the tournament’s title sponsor. Tournament director Bob Moran made the announcement at the U.S. Open in New York, The Post and Courier reported.
The contract runs three years, with an option for two more, the newspaper reported. Volvo and Meredith declined to discuss the financial terms.
The deal ties the tournament to Volvo’s biggest project in the region. In May, the Swedish automaker picked Berkeley County for its first American factory, a $500 million plant that could employ as many as 4,000 people.
“As we are establishing our U.S. manufacturing footprint in the Charleston area, this is an ideal way for us to leverage our presence in the community,” Lex Kerssemakers, president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, said in the announcement.
Little else will change, Moran told The Post and Courier. “This is simply a title sponsorship change,” he said. Charleston Tennis LLC, a Meredith subsidiary, will continue to own and operate the tournament, according to the announcement.
The Post and Courier describes the event as the largest women’s-only tournament on the WTA tour. It has been played on Daniel Island since it moved from Hilton Head Island in 2001. Attendance this April was 86,176, down slightly from 87,997 in 2014, the newspaper reported. The tournament has averaged 82,786 fans a year in Charleston, with a high of 95,767 in 2010. Meredith said the event reaches more than 10 million television viewers worldwide.
Prize money will rise from $731,000 this year to $752,000 in 2016, Moran told the newspaper.
The first Volvo Cars Open is scheduled for April 2 to 10, 2016, on Daniel Island. Tickets go on sale Sept. 15.
