Indian Wells is known as Tennis Paradise for a reason, but it isn’t perfect. And one of the biggest criticisms to come out of this year is the structure of ticketing for Stadium 1 and Stadium 2.
Stadium 1 has always been ticketed only, but this is the first year with no general admission seating whatsoever in Stadium 2. The aim, of course, is to sell more tickets, but all it has led to is empty seats–especially during night sessions.
This problem doesn’t just apply to Indian Wells. Tennis as a whole needs to make more seating available to grounds pass holders, even on the biggest stages.
Inherent Issues
When it comes to tennis tournaments, there are a few built-in problems in terms of scheduling and ticketing. When buying a ticket in advance, you simply don’t know which players you are going to see. You don’t know who might lose before you go, and you don’t know what the court assignments will be. These things aren’t known until late in the day before, making it almost impossible to plan around seeing certain players. And at 1000-level events like Indian Wells, the two-week format has the added issues of players only playing every other day.
Considering that these problems come from the nature of the tournaments, they aren’t really fixable. But this still impacts the fan experience, and tournaments aren’t flexible enough for the fans. Especially in early rounds, it would be beneficial for fans to be able to update their ticket plan in order to see a certain player. As it is, fans can try to buy new tickets and sell their old ones, but that could get complicated and expensive.
Last year in Miami, a Joao Fonseca match was moved at the last minute from the general admission Grandstand to the ticketed Stadium Court, leaving fans disappointed as they waited for him in the Grandstand. That is more of an extreme example where the court was changed right before the match, but the point still stands; there should have been an easy way for those fans to upgrade their tickets–especially if Stadium Court wasn’t full.
Empty Stadiums
That brings it back to Indian Wells, where a full Stadium 1 or Stadium 2 has become rare in the early rounds. Only a few matches, like those involving Carlos Alcaraz, have managed to fill a stadium.
The outer courts are packed. The lines to get into Stadium 3 extend well into the grounds, and as the field gets smaller and smaller, all the courts get even more crowded. All of them, that is, except 1 and 2.
Those stadiums–both of them, not just Stadium 2–need general admission. Not only would that create a better atmosphere, it would also give fans who can’t afford stadium tickets an opportunity to see top players. It would be chaotic to get those seats, yes, but fans who truly care should be able to see the day’s best tennis even if they can’t pay extra for it.
A New Reputation
Tennis is in an era where it wants to leave its elitist roots behind, but if true fans of the game aren’t able to see the top players, then that elitism won’t go away.
It is true that in expanding general admissions, tournaments would make less money. But it would be worth it in the long run as the highest level of tennis would become accessible to more fans.
This year’s stadium crowds at Indian Wells make it apparent that something has to change, but that change can only happen if this tournament and all the others can adapt and put their greed aside.
Main Photo Credit: Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]