Tennis to select Davis Cup final venues in advance under new plans

Tennis chiefs plan to adopt the NFL's Super Bowl model for the Davis and Fed Cup finals by selecting fixed-venue host cities in advance.

The switch away from one of the finalists hosting the decider is part of a broader strategy aimed at broadening the appeal of the international team events.

Other options under consideration include a tweak of formats to reduce the length of matches and expanding the top-tier Fed Cup competition to feature 16 nations. 

"This is all part of our mission to make the appeal of tennis broad and wide," said International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty, who hopes to have the changes in place by 2018.

"We have 700,000 spectators that come to Davis and Fed Cup each year... about 3.6 billion people view it on TV, but it's got to be more than that.

"With a neutral final venue we can work with our broadcast partners and make it a much bigger show than just two nations that know they're playing each other.

"Davis Cup is 135 nations," Haggerty said. "This is a way to unlock potential revenue which will help grassroots tennis."

Croatia will host Argentina for the 2016 Davis Cup title after winning their respective semi-finals last weekend, but a host city has yet to be named.

"It is really hard to plan and get viewership and fans excited," Haggerty said of the current format. "If you have a fixed site, people can begin to plan and look ahead.

"Last year we had a fantastic final in Ghent. But the reality is, Britain could have sold out the (13,000-capacity) stadium. Belgium could have sold it out, too."

Haggerty refused to speculate on how much cities would need to bid to host a final, adding: "We're waiting for cities to distinguish themselves, and we'll see what it is. I don't want to prejudge what it might be."

The ITF membership will vote on the plans next August.