In 2010, faced with opposition to the proposed expansion from factions within the Paris City Council, the FFT announced that it was considering an alternate plan to move the French Open to a new, 55-court venue outside of Paris city limits. The three sites under consideration were Marne-la-Vallée, the northern Paris suburb of Gonesse, and a vacant army base near Versailles. Amid charges of bluffing and brinkmanship, a spokesman explained that because Roland Garros was less than half the size of the other three Grand Slam venues and had no covered courts, the French Open was at risk of losing its Grand Slam status to Madrid—which has a long clay court tradition and larger facilities—or the Gulf countries.