Mc Richard Paglicawan
Manila, 29 August 2014: Philippines’ International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) franchise ‘Manila Mavericks’ announced the start of ticket sales from 1 September in the capital city of Manila.
The Mall of Asia Arena will now host the inaugural IPTL in a last minute move by IPTL from 28-30 November 2014, bringing to the city some of the world’s finest tennis stars for an epic three-day display of sport and entertainment. During the three-day extravaganza, the Manila Mavericks will take on the UAE Royals, Singapore Slammers and Indian Aces for the winning team’s purse of USD 1 million.
Eric Gottschalk, COO of IPTL who is currently in town to kick start the ticket campaign announced today that “When the Mall of Asia, one of the finest entertainment venues in the world, recently opened up the dates required to host the IPTL, we had to reconsider our previous venue options and quickly agreed that MOA is the right fit to host such an event.”
Mahesh Bhupathi, Founder of the IPTL was quick to add: “SM is the biggest conglomerate in the Philippines and having them as a partner adds a lot of value to our property and validates the potential of our league. I would like to thank SM for their long term commitment to the IPTL and the Manila Mavericks and we look forward to staging a World Premiere at MOA Arena in November”
Starting on 1 September 2014, 3-day passes only be available for the Manila event through SM Tickets, the ticket outlet of the MOA Arena which will sell during the Early Bird period between 1-15 September from General Admission (Pesos 2,500) to VIP (Pesos 49,000 including of red carpet entry) as part of a conscious and sensitive pricing strategy to make this event accessible to as many tennis fans as possible in the Philippines.
Each 3-DAY Pass entitles the holder to watch 2 daily matches, which will start at 4:00 pm and 7:30 pm local time, each day. The Mall of Asia Arena with its spectator capacity of over 13,000 seats has a tradition of hosting major sporting events but it will be the first time that Manila hosts a professional tennis event in the city.
The event will give the Philippine tennis fans, families, and young adults a world-class stage to watch the best current and former ATP and WTA players up close and personal as they compete for team victory.
The IPTL confirmed the participating players of the Manila Mavericks with Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray as the Mavericks’ top players, which will be joined by their teammates Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya and top Philippines player Treat Huey. 28-year-old Huey is the Philippines’ #1 and current ATP Doubles World No. 33. The player’s fans will get to see him live in action at a home event for the first time.
Other “Superstars” to come to Manila are: Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Danilela Hantuchova, Thoms Berdych, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter, Nick Kyrgios, Gael Monfils, Fabrice Santoro, Richard Gasquet, Goran Ivanisevic and more.
The IPTL is “Breaking the Code” of traditional rules of tennis with its new format in which each match consist of 5 sets played in different formats by different players (men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and former Champions’ singles) and where each game won counts as one point for the team point’s total. The team that wins the most games overall, across the five sets, wins the match.
Fans will see players calling for “time-outs” in the middle of a game, announcing a “power point” and play a “shoot out” to decide the winners of each match, while live entertainment, a running shot clock and many more features promise edge of the seat action.
Key local marketing activities will be launched in the Philippines soon to support the promotion of the event, while fans can purchase reduced priced tickets during the Early Bird promotion between 1-15 September through www.smtickets.com.
