«The ATP Finals in Turin are a great demonstration of how Italy, the municipal administration of Turin and the Italian Tennis Federation have been able to compete with other big cities in the world and be able to host such an important event. It is a sign of how much sports tourism is still alive for the country, also because we have shown that we can carry out large events even in the middle of a pandemic, such as Cortina 2021. The ATPs will be a bridge to Milan Cortina 2026, which will be the first Olympics strongly decentralized with 2 regions of Lombardy and Veneto and two autonomous provinces such as Trento and Bolzano ». Stefano Dealessi, founder and CEO of DAO, is convinced that this new test bed for the sector of international sporting events in Italy can be a piece in the construction of an ever-increasing credibility of the country.
The Nitto Atp Finals will be played in Turin from 2021 to 2025. The Piedmontese city is the fifteenth to host the prestigious end-of-season tennis event, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. The event will take place from 14 to 21 November at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, the largest indoor facility in Italy, which for the occasion provides the standard configuration of the facility with about 12,000 spectators, even if the decisions of the CTS are creating problems for those who had booked tickets.
“This is an important challenge for the Italian sports system, after 10 years in London, because we will host the grand finale of the men’s tennis season, with the eight best singles and the eight best doubles pairs fighting for the last title. of the season »explains Dealessi, whose company took care of the corporate management of the event in organizing a sporting experience for large Italian and international companies, which have decided to invest in the event. «The corporate project foresees 850 places dedicated to companies, with a series of services. Between land investing companies 85% is represented by large Italian companies and 15% from abroad. The agreement provides for a 5-year period and we expect an increase in visits from abroad over time, probably limited at the moment by the pandemic “underlines the entrepreneur, who with his company has taken care of the sponsorship of sporting events international championships, such as the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Italy 2010 World Championships, the 2013 FED Cup in Palermo, the America’s Cup World Series 2013 in Naples, the 2018 Figure Skating World Championships in Milan and the FIA Formula-e 2018 Championships / 2019.
The towing effect of sport
«Italy has a relevant and important history in the organization of major sporting events. The country system works well in these circumstances and when there is quality, Italian companies support these initiatives. In the case of the Turin ATP Finals, the segment of customers that has acquired the most tickets is the financial and insurance one, starting with the bank that gives the title to this event, Intesa Sanpaolo, which has shown an extraordinary commitment to support the event ” underlines Dealessi, who with Dao in Turin is also advisor for Giorgio Armani, which he historically deals with following the scouting of athletes and the contract with Coni for the sporting side. At the Atp Finals, the Italian designer is the technical sponsor of the event with EA7, the Emporio Armani line.
«I believe there are sporting events that unquestionably bring un international sports awareness for the Italian brand, understood as notoriety, knowledge, dissemination. If as a country you win gold in the 100 meters at the Olympics or the European football championships at Wembley against the English, this certainly has an impact on the spread of the reputation of the Italian brand and consequently also a positive impact on the reputation of Italian companies. The great Italian quality at an industrial and service level is thus also associated abroad with the quality of sports results and triggers a virtuous circle that also has economic repercussions “underlines the CEO of DAO, who continues:” On a national level, then, certain victories have a strong social value: the fact that there are so many winning teams serves to bring young people closer to sports, which thus supports the school in training the citizens of tomorrow. The driving effect of sporting successes is therefore twofold: external to support the Italian brand and internal for the social impact it has on young people ».