Event To Be Held Aug. 8-14 at Home Depot Center
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| Maria Sharapova headlines the field at the JPMorgan Chase Open© ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images |
CARSON, CA (August 7, 2005) -- Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and last year’s No. 1 ranked Kim Clijsters, head a strong field for the JPMorgan Chase Open, Aug. 8-14, at The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State Dominguez Hills in Carson.
Also headlining the field of world-class talent will be: Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, Mary Pierce, Elena Likhovtseva, Daniela Hantuchova, Flavia Pennetta, Shinobu Asagoe, Dinara Safina, Francesca Schiavone, Gisela Dulko, Klara Koukalova, Anna Chakvetadze and Marion Bartoli. Clijsters and Pierce won the first two US Open Series events the last two weeks at Stanford and La Costa
Maria Sharapova bobblehead night, opening night post event concert, Saturday night fireworks extravaganza, tennis racquet and jumbo tennis ball giveaways are just some of the special events planned for the 2005 JPMorgan Chase Open.
The Sharapova bobblehead giveaway is Friday, Aug. 12 at 8 p.m., with the first 5,000 fans in attendance receiving a Sharapova bobblehead. Bowling for Soup will be performing their biggest hits, including “Almost”, “1985” and their new single "Ohio (come Back to Texas)" on center court Monday, Aug. 8, following the first singles match of the evening session. The Saturday, Aug. 13, 1 p.m. session features a tennis racquet giveaway to the first 5,000 kids 14 and under in attendance, and following the Saturday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m. session is a spectacular fireworks show. The jumbo tennis ball giveaway is Thursday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. Other giveaways include JPMorgan Chase Open key chains on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at 11 a.m. and JPMorgan Chase Open baseball caps at the Sunday, Aug. 14 1 p.m. finals.
This year’s tournament will once again feature Courtside Cuisine by Wolfgang Puck. One of last year’s most talked about innovations, Courtside Cuisine by Wolfgang Puck is a special hospitality area that will serve a special menu prepared from recipes created by Puck, who will also appear on Thursday night, Aug. 11. Nightly wine tasting will also be offered.
All session ticket packages and group tickets are on sale for the JPMorgan Chase Open, one of the most successful and popular stops on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Ticket packages start at just $115, and groups can save up to 50 percent.
In addition, WEEKEND TICKET PACKAGES, WHICH SOLD OUT LAST YEAR, are on sale. That package includes a total of five sessions on Friday, Saturday and the finals on Sunday. Plus tennis fans save up to $42.50 off the regular price of individual tickets. For more information on all ticket packages, call 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425).
The JPMorgan Chase Open is also a part of the prestigious US Open Series, which links 10 summer hard-court tournaments to the famed US Open. This year’s JPMorgan Chase Open marks the second time players competing in the US Open Series tournaments will be vying for bonus prize money at the US Open. Players competing in the “summer season” of tennis at the participating WTA tournaments will receive US Open Series points which will ultimately earn the winner of the series the opportunity to double her US Open prize money.
The 2005 JPMorgan Chase Open…THE SUMMER’S ULTIMATE TENNIS CELEBRATION.
About the JPMorgan Chase Open
The JPMorgan Chase Open, at 35 years old one of the most historic events in women’s tennis, is being held for the third consecutive year at The Home Depot Center. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event offers prize money of $585,000 to the 56-player singles and 16-team doubles draws. The distinguished tournament champions’ list includes Clijsters, Serena Williams, Davenport, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.
About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California’s new home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125 acre site on the campus of California State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California, The Home Depot Center features a 13,000 seat stadium for tennis, a 27,000 seat stadium for soccer, rugby, lacrosse & other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 20,000 seat facility for track & field, the ADT Event Center, a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, lacrosse, basketball and other sports. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is home of the USA Tennis High Performance Training Center as well as the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation. The “complex,” which is also the home of the nationally recognized Athletes’ Performance training center for elite and professional athletes, has additionally be designated “official” training sites for USA Cycling, United States Track & Field and the USTA.
About JPMorgan Chase
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $801 billion and operations in more than 50 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and businesses, financial transaction processing, investment management, private banking and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase is headquartered in New York and serves more than 30 million consumers nationwide, and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about JPMorgan Chase is available on the Internet at www.jpmorganchase.com.