CANADIAN DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS ACTION TO RETURN TO VANCOUVER IN FEBRUARY
November 19, 2012 · Print This Article
Canadian men will face top-ranked Spain at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at University of British Columbia; Province of British Columbia contributes $100K grant to host event
Vancouver, November 19, 2012 – Tennis Canada announced Monday that the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia will be the host site for the upcoming Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first-round tie between Canada and Spain. The event will take place from February 1-3, 2013 and will mark a return to the same city and venue that overwhelmingly supported Canada’s World Group first-round tie versus France earlier this year.
“The team considered all the hosting options very carefully for this tie, but ultimately the immense crowd support and first-class treatment we received last time in Vancouver were factors in deciding to return there,” said Miele Canadian Davis Cup team captain Martin Laurendeau. “We are playing the best team in the world with players that can win on any surface and in any conditions. So we need to ensure we are providing our players with an environment that they feel they can perform at their best to hopefully cause an upset.”
Canada, currently ranked No. 12 on the Davis Cup rankings, maintained their spot in the World Group with a 4-1 victory over South Africa in the World Group play-offs held in Montreal in September. This was after a 4-1 defeat to France in the World Group first round in Vancouver last February. It is the first time since 1991-’92 that Canada has been in the World Group in consecutive years.
“We had three viable cities and venues to host this tie at, but ultimately it has to come down to where the captain and players feel they have the best chance to win,” said Michael S. Downey, president and CEO, Tennis Canada. “We had strong bids from both Calgary and Winnipeg, and while their time to host will surely come, Vancouver was chosen as the best option for this tie and we are excited to be going back there. We are also extremely grateful to the Province of British Columbia for once again extending their support to the event, illustrating further that tennis is a highly valued property in that region.”
The Province of British Columbia has provided Tennis Canada with $100,000 hosting support grant which was a large contributing factor in the decision to return to Vancouver and will ensure the staging of a world-class event.
“We are proud to support the Davis Cup and to have had a role in bringing it back to B.C.,” said Bill Bennett, British Columbia Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. “Hot ticket events like this are a huge win for local families and businesses because of the thousands of local, national and international fans they attract and the money they spend in the province. We know, from hosting the Davis Cup earlier this year, that the economic impact will be substantial.”
In addition, Tennis BC and Tennis Canada have made an application to the City of Vancouver’s program for a Sport Hosting grant and are optimistic that Vancouver will continue its strong support of the Davis Cup competition in its upcoming Council deliberations.
The four Miele Canadian Davis Cup team members to face Spain will be selected by Laurendeau at a later date. The 2012 team members included multiple Canadian Davis Cup record holder and eight-time Grand Slam doubles champion Daniel Nestor (Toronto), rising star and top North American singles player Milos Raonic (Thornhill, Ontario), Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver) and Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, Ontario).
The last time Davis Cup was held in Vancouver, the event sold out within minutes of going on public sale. To allow for more fans to take in the upcoming tie against Spain live, Tennis Canada has worked diligently with the staff at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre to increase capacity by nearly 1,400 seats for a total of 6,400 available tickets per day. A portion of those seats will be on hold for the visiting nation, international sponsors and the International Tennis Federation.
“We are thrilled about the opportunity to host another Davis Cup at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre,” said Kavie Toor, Associate Director of Facilities and Business Development for University of British Columbia (UBC). “Our students, university community and all tennis fans immensely enjoyed the 2012 Vancouver Davis Cup experience and we are excited to partner on hosting an even bigger and better world class event. We will be working hard with our partners from Tennis Canada to create a winning atmosphere and environment for the athletes and fans.”
Spain is the seeded team and is the top-ranked Davis Cup team in the world. They have dominated Davis Cup competition since 2000, winning five times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011) and finishing as runner-up twice (2003, 2012). They narrowly missed out on a second consecutive championship this past weekend, falling to Czech Republic in a deciding fifth rubber.
The only other time the two countries have met in Davis Cup action was in 1991 when Spain defeated Canada 4-1 in the World Group first round.
The winner of this tie in February will move on to the World Group quarter-finals and will also be assured to keep their spot in the World Group for the following year. The losing nation will be forced to play a World Group play-off tie to keep their spot in the elite level for 2014.
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual international team competition in sport with more than 120 nations competing. Only 16 countries entered in Davis Cup competition qualify for the World Group each year.
Tickets will go on sale Monday, December 3, 2012 and will be available through Ticketmaster. For more information regarding ticket sales, visit www.tenniscanada.com/daviscup
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