MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - The Miami Open celebrated their ribbon cutting ceremony with several sports stars in attendance.
The 35th annual ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Wednesday morning.
The event was previously held in Key Biscayne but a year ago moved to the Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami Dolphins and stadium owner Stephen Ross was among those who cut the ribbon on the court.
Tennis players from across the globe will complete for the following two weeks at the event.
Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic were among the sports stars who participated in the ceremonial ribbon cutting.
“Standing here in this stadium right now you see the magnitude, what kind of arena this is, and I think it’s a big, massive moment in our sport,” said three-time Miami Open champion Roger Federer. “In some ways it’s mixed feelings. I’m sad for Key Biscayne because I know how much the fans and the players kinda love that place, but it couldn’t grow in any way, and it’s just growing more and more and more, so I understand the pressure that the tournament was under and wanting to be able to grow too, and I think they found this stadium, and with the owner here, they saw opportunities that you just cannot have in Key Biscayne, so I see that as a very happy day, a good day.”
The stadium court was configured to have a 14,000 seating capacity while 12 additional courts were placed outside of the stadium where other matches will be held.
Eight-time Miami Open champion Serena Williams said, “Honestly, really only Miami. You can’t really do this in any other city that have the fan base have the belief and just have support. Definitely different but I like it. It’s really fresh. It’s really innovative, and it’s pretty exciting to see it all come together.”
The Miami Open will conclude on Monday, March 31.
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