Haha, I don't know how we'd be able to raise that kind of money for a badminton tournament. Perhaps a Djarum or KLRC would like to take ownership of this event (please)? Sad really.
In the 21st century, the major world economic powers [thus purchasing powers for badminton business and viewers] will be USA, EU, China, Brazil, India, Russia, Indonesia... It is best to keep focusing on these countries... Yes, soccer is still going to be the number one world sport, but badminton should aim to be the world's best indoor sport...
I will urge RIM [the makers of Blackberry] to sponsor the BlackBerry Canada Open Gold GP... There are tons of Blackberry users in INA... Now I see more and more of my friends from THA and PHI who are using Blackberries...
Err... Balsillie is too busy trying to buy the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL team). He's got about $212.5 m on the table
I would like the slams to be chosen based on quality of organization (including quality of officials, administration, security measures, etc), large and deserving fan and government support (popularity of badminton there both for recreation and as an industry), strong sponsorship (attractive prizes but BWF can help to top-up for deserving cases) and continental spread (hopefully to be rotated among deserving countries). Although AE is historically the most deserving, it should not be a permanent venue for the slams so that others can aspire to be as good or even better. Certainly China should not be missed out in the inaugural slams as I feel it is the world's most dominant badminton country with a tremendously wide base. Neither should Indonesia.
- Maybe it's just my opinion, I think the preparation work(amend the participation rules to improve the quality of the participants and finding enough sponsors for prize money) for the grand slam events will not be a walk in the park for BWF, as I don't think BWF has the experience to handle such a grand event yet(of course that's only my opinion). And we have learn from the past super series master final (in year 2007) event that rising the prize money of $US500,000 for a badminton tournament is not a trivial task(especially in non-Asia countries), which is also why the event was called off during 2007 due to lack of fund. Therefore I think is wiser to start with one grand slam event(like making the next AE the first) next year instead of trying to organize all 4 in one go. Once they have experience and the confidence, then they can proceed to hold the 4 grand slam events annually(I think this will be a smoother transition process for upgrading the super series events into the grand slam class tournament). - If I read correctly, then you are right. I think their original plan is to hold those 4 grand slam events annually. In my opinion, that's a little ambitious to hold all 4 at one go, which is why I suggest to start with one first and see how it goes.
Before BWF is having any grandslam..they should learn from Tennis like to establish rules in DRAWING, etc( just look at SS draw, etc..many things do not make sense...some tournaments are allowed to re-draw, some are not), ranking system, penalty..basically RULES have to be there before any Grandslam....honestly too many things that BWF has to do if they want to have any Grandslam..umpires, linesmen, etc...the reason why BWF has hard time to get sponsorship is due to lack of BWF's leadership.... Last year, they talked about minimum US$ 500000 for Grand Slam... Proton of MAS can do it..this year alone, they sponsor ATP Tennis for US$ 950 K plus some appearance fees..I think US$ 1 million for MAS Grandslam is possible...I think US$ 1 million is a minimum for Grandslam.. I think All England and Denmark will have tough time to get some funds..CHINA ,India and Japan should not have problem but I do not think India deserves Grandslam yet. Anyway..I think BWF should do 1 Grandslam first in first year and see how things turn up..( I agree with Maiyun)..BWF is very stubborn as they refuse learning things from Tennis....
It's so ridiculous to appoint 4 grand slams and request at least half million prize on it. The only way to solve it is the market. We need to have exactly 4 gs, if you insist, that's fine, Just simply grant the top 4 prized open tournaments. Which county can get it will solely depends on how much money they can offer. That's it. Numbers never lie, all the other factors, will be reflected by the money they can offer. I don't think you can find 4 associations/countries can afford minimum $500,000 prize money. It is also so prejudice and unfair to groundless accuse only China and Korea for bad lines calls for denying their rights to host.
Canada West and EAST are not getting along...at least next year Canada will have their first US$ 50000 grand Prix....sadly like in USA, any sports that having asian as a majority will not attract big sponsorship..even one Asian bank that had sponsored Tennis WTA up to US$ 800 K ( for the past 3 yrs)will not come up US$ 80000 for USA Badminton..thats how sad it is....
To be honest, I think this is a very good reason not to give grand slam status to a country that has this problem!!
MAS. China and Japan can afford that amount of money...and it is still nothing...( just see how much those countries can afford to have more expensive Tennis tournaments....)
- USD500k? Could be a bit high. I agree that's a lot of money to raise! - What happens in the world championship year? You can be Champion but no prize money Any grand slam status? - Revolving grand slam status for some tournaments - hmm, that will solve some of the jealousy problem but it would make me very confused as a spectator. "uhh xxx was the winner of the grand slam Ina Open in 2013, but in 2014, when it wasn't a grandslam tournament, it was won by yyy" - part of the magic of the grandslam in tennis is that it is so difficult to win all four tournaments in one calendar year. It would be difficult to follow for the less badminton orientated spectator. - Would the superseries final be viable? I am not sure. It having prestige problems exactly the same as the "world grand prix finals'? What could be better? A biannual world championship at the end of the year would go down very well.
I like that!! We already have world championships, thomas/uber cups, sudirman cup that can move to different countries. Is badminton growing in the US? It might be better strategically to place the 4th grand slam in a country of high potential growth rather than trying to carve out a share of an established market.
Money for tennis doesn't mean there's the same money for badminton. Look at Malaysia, before introducing the super series, it could only have spent $120,000 at maximum for its highest prize tournament. Even now, Malaysia got the super series, but the prize is only $200,000 which is the minimum requirement. Malaysia is certainly not capable to offer $500,000 for badminton. China has provided 2 super series both at $250,000. China is the only country now has the ability. If any other countries can collect $500,000, why not sponsor 2 super series now. It's more unlikely that Japan or England can afford it. Same applies to the US. Even though those countries are wealthy, but they don't have much money for badminton. if money were easy as you guys wish, badminton would have been the hottest indoor sport decades ago.
There is a difference between being able to afford it and what a sponsor is willing to put into it. As the prestige of a tournament increases, so does the value as seen by the sponsor. I don't know what your financial sources are but as hauge said, MAS, JPN and CHN can EASILY afford to put up that type of prize money if designated a Grand Slam tournament. I tend to think his sources are more than reliable.
