Paris, Feb 13 (DPA) Delegates bowed to tradition Sunday by voting to keep the French Open at its traditional Paris site of Roland Garros.
The highly anticipated ballot among up to 200 delegates to the French Tennis Federation general assembly assures the event’s survival on the crowded grounds west of the city.
An action plan and upgrade is to be put into place after approval by the city government to expand the grounds – carefully – into an adjacent botanical garden by 2016.
‘Members of the French Tennis Federation, who have met this weekend for a general assembly, have chosen the project of the city of Paris, which envisages the enlargement and modernisation of the historic site at Porte d’Auteuil for the new Roland Garros,’ read a statement from the federation.
Many had been expecting a tight vote with the possibility of a run-off between Roland Garros and Versailles. That scenario failed to materialise.
Officials said the 195 delegates gave the Roland Garros plan a two-third majority. Expansion is expected to lift the ground size from 8.5 to 13.5 hectares.
Three other locations had been mentioned as new homes for the smallest of the four Grand Slams: Versailles, Marne-la-Vallee and Gonesse.
