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Emirates Arena to host Davis Cup Semi-Final

Press Release   •   Aug 12, 2015 12:03 BST

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has today announced that the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group semifinal between Great Britain and Australia will take place at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

The tie will take place on September 18-20 and will be the 13th meeting between the two nations dating back to 1907, with Australia holding an 8-4 advantage.  Interestingly the two nations have split their last six meetings and the last time they faced off indoors in Great Britain, the hosts won 3-2. 

Leon Smith, Captain of the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team, said: “We have had incredible support any time we played at home, none more so than when we played in Glasgow.  Playing indoors allows the noise level to go through the roof and will give our team the ideal platform they need to get inspired.  This will be important against a nation with the Davis Cup pedigree of Australia as we try to reach the final of competition for the first time in nearly 40 years.  To bring all our fans together, I would like to ask anyone supporting us to wear Blue or Navy over the course of the weekend and make as much noise as possible.”

World number three Andy Murray added: “It’s exciting for the team to be going back to Glasgow. It’s always special to play in front of a home crowd and we are fortunate to have played our last three ties at home.  We had a unique atmosphere in Glasgow, the crowd was unbelievable.  It’s going to be a huge week for our team and we’ll be doing everything we can to get GB through to the final.”

The Emirates Arena will build a temporary hard court with 8,200 seats, similar to what was used in March against the United States. Teams will be announced no later than ten days before the start of the tie.  Great Britain will be playing their first Davis Cup semifinal since 1981, while Australia is playing their 15th in that same span.  Great Britain are bidding to reach the final for the first time since 1978 having last won the title in 1936 (ending a four consecutive year-run) amounting to nine titles in all.  Australia have won the Davis Cup 28 times (only four behind the United States with 32), their last victory coming in 2003.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “We are thrilled Glasgow's Emirates Arena has been chosen to host the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas semi-final, adding to what has been an incredible year of sport in our great city. The now famous Emirates Roar played such an important part in Britain's earlier victory over the USA and that support will be crucial as we take on Australia. The players really responded to their backing and I'm sure it will be the same again next month.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events added: “We are delighted that Glasgow has been selected to host the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team once again for the semi-final against Australia in September. Scotland is the perfect stage for events and we are certain that fans from all across the country will turn out in force to show their support at the Emirates Arena.”

Richard Newman, Head of Brand and Communications, BNP Paribas UK said: “The Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the event in the tennis calendar where the crowd plays a major role – in many ways supporters become the sixth member of the team. At the Quarter-Finals at Queen’s, we launched the BNP Paribas Fan Academy to help support tennis like never before. It was a huge success, and the Fan Academy will be on hand again in Glasgow to generate another electric atmosphere.”

Tara McGregor-Woodhams, Head of Brand, Sponsorship and Digital Marketing Aegon UK added: “The Aegon GB Davis Cup Team is on a roll and we know the crowd has played a huge part in their recent ties.  Returning to Glasgow, where memories of victory and a fantastic atmosphere are still fresh in the Team’s mind will no doubt set them up well for this huge semi-final.”

British Tennis Members and previous 2015 Davis Cup purchasers will be given priority access to tickets from 7am Tuesday 25 August. Tickets will then go on general sale from 7am Thursday 27 August.  Three-day tickets will be available and a variety of price points will be offered across all three days. Hospitality is on sale now. For the latest information on tickets and hospitality, please visit www.lta.org.uk/DavisCup or follow us on twitter @BritishTennis or (www.facebook.com/britishtennislta).

Notes to Editors

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    • VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
    • The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
    • This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
      1. Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland       to visit different parts of the country
      2. Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
      3. Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international       opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One       Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
      4. Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
      5. Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
      6. Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
      7. Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
    • VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
    • The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
    • According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism      economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
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    Year of Food and Drink 2015

    • 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
    • Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
    • A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
    • For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland