Dallas Forever

by Print This Article

Since 2012, the Four Seasons Golf Resort in Irving, Texas host since 2012 the Dallas Tennis Classic, perhaps the most important Challenger event in the Tour. The tournament replaced the Sunrise Challenger in the same date, during the second week of the Indian Wells Masters and just before the Miami Masters.  


Dallas has the third largest population in Texas behind Houston and San Antonio. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. The metroplex economy is the sixth largest in the United States, and the  Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is the largest airport in the state, the 4th largest in the United States, the 6th largest in the world; in terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest airport in the state and 6th busiest in the world. 


Venue. The Four Seasons resort, located in Irving and featuring also the par-70 TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas golf course site of the PGA’s HP Byron Nelson Championship, host the Challenger tournament on its hardcourts. The upscale area of Las Colinas is currently home to more than 2,000 companies including the Fortune 500 global headquarters for Commercial Metals, ExxonMobil, Fluor and Kimberly-Clark., and three private country clubs, consequently the real estate prices steadily rose in recent years. The venue has seven hard-courts (5 of them reserved exclusively to the players during the tournament), and further two courts on artificial grass.


Ticket. The organizers guarantee the free entrance for the qualification rounds. Tickets for the main draw matches are quite expensive. Price range from $20 (first and second round) to $45 (for the final). There are also the week-long ticket ($150) or a weekend-long alternative: you can watch the semifinals and the final paying $95.


Transport. The DFW Airport is just 30 km away from the resort. You can reach the club calling a taxi or renting a car, an affordable option in the Usa. The Four Season Resort is indicated on the GPS maps


Hotel. The official tournament hotel is the “La Quinta INN”, less than a hundred metres away from the venue; players appreciate its very comfortable location. Room rates aren't too expensive: $100 a night. Other options in the nearby are the Holiday Inn, the Windham or the Staybridge.


Food & Drink. Every popular fast food company has a restaurant in Las Colinas: Mc Donald’s, KFC, Wendy’s, Jack in the Box, Chili’s, Burger King, What a burger. An alternative is Cracker Barrel, an American chain of restaurants based on traditional Texan and Southern cuisine (specialties are soups, beefs and steaks). Paying a bit more, we can suggest a pair of restaurants: the Mexican Via Real Gourmet ($30-50) or the Italian Vito's restaurant with a vast offer of wines. For an entertaining after-dinner you have to move downtown, about 20 km away from the club. We suggest the Belmont Bar (with frequent dj mixets), the Den or the Bikini Sport Bar where waitresses wear swimsuits while serving customers during NBA or NFL matches.