Collingwood Magpies open to January relocation to help Australian Open tennis tournament grow

“We have a strong working relationship with Craig Tiley and his team at Tennis Australia, John Harnden and his team at Melbourne Park and the State Government, and any proposal would be progressed collaboratively with all key stakeholders.”

Tiley, the AO chief executive, said on Saturday he had ambitions to radically expand and be innovative with the tournament’s next stage. Plans included an interactive glass court and an immersive dome with 270-degree screens.

Tiley proposed a “translucent dome over the whole precinct” akin to what they have in Dallas, US, as a weather protection.

“There’s an oval on the other side of Gosch’s Paddock, AAMI Park, the MCG, these are good pieces of land and property, which we would look at and expand into,” Tiley said.

Pressed further about the vision on Monday, Tiley confirmed Tennis Australia would work with Collingwood to assess options.

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“They’ve [Collingwood] been fantastic with communicating what the options are,” Tiley said.

“Obviously, there’s pre-season training, and we don’t want to disrupt any of that, but there is a way to use more of that precinct and the facilities they have.”

with Hannah Kennelly