Biography|Mark Ein — The April Afternoon He Kept the Open in Rock Creek Park

The professional tennis tournament now called the Mubadala Citi DC Open has been played at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center since 1969.

The stadium sits at 16th Street and Kennedy Street NW, inside Rock Creek Park, at 5220 16th Street NW.

On 2 April 2019 Ein stood on stadium court and confirmed that he would manage and operate the event, then branded the Citi Open, under an agreement with the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation.

The foundation still owned the tournament.

He took an option to buy.

Rival bids had been higher.

The board accepted his terms after he committed to keep the event in the District.

The 2019 dates stayed at this park, from 27 July to 4 August.

Citi extended title sponsorship through that year.

The tournament rejoined the U.S. Open Series.

Ein had grown up in Chevy Chase going to this event.

He had already spent a decade putting World TeamTennis in temporary downtown stadiums.

Taking the Open was the move that tied his tennis ownership to the one ATP stop the city already had.

The stadium in the photograph still shows the older Legg Mason Tennis Classic banners.

That title sponsorship ended years before he arrived.

The bowl is the same public court.

A visitor in summer will find tour matches here. The rest of the year the center is a park tennis facility with reservation fees.

No private residence is involved.

The pin is the stadium where the announcement was made and where the tournament still plays.

Photo: Asolsma1988, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons