Oct 14, 2008, 14:10 GMT
Brisbane - The mini turf war over the future home of the Australian Open was apparently ended on Tuesday, with a top official saying the Grand Slam will remain in it's Melbourne home.
'Australia is really behind the event as a Grand Slam, it's a good event in Melbourne,' said Tennis Australia boss Steve Wood during a presentation of January's new ATP-WTA tournament in Brisbane.
'We are going to deliver on our contract at Melbourne, we've had a great run, massive growth in Melbourne.'
The pronouncement could mean the end of immediate speculation as to the venue for the major after the current contract with Victorian capital Melbourne expires in 2016.
In recent days, hot-rival Sydney had raised the possibility of stealing away the sporting crown jewel from the neighboring state. In addtion, Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have also expressed interest in spiriting the event away from Australia on a wave of money.
Since 1988, the tournament has been held at Melbourne Park on the Yarra river in the central city area.
Tennis officials admit they've been negotiating with state officials about backing a massive overhaul of the ageing facility.
'We've got a business case study going on right now as to what the future needs to deliver for us,' said Wood. 'We are very happy with the way in which things are operating there.'
Sydney has fallen by the wayside in marketing in the wake of a letdown following the 2000 Olympics and was keen to snatch the Open which generates an estimated 100 million dollars for the Victorian economy each year.
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