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Cicero enjoying new role as Western & Southern Open tournament director

Tournament Director Vince Cicero talks about this year's field of players for the Western & Southern Open during a press conference July 11 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

Nick Daggy Tournament Director Vince Cicero talks about this year's field of players for the Western & Southern Open during a press conference July 11 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

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By Steven Matthews, Staff Writer 5:12 PM Tuesday, July 19, 2011

MASON — Monday morning for Vince Cicero started out in typical fashion.

The Mason resident left his White Blossom subdivision home, stopped at Starbucks for a regular coffee, then reported to the office where he is in his first year as tournament director for the Western & Southern Open.

But unlike the past six weeks, Cicero didn’t have a 20-plus mile commute to downtown Cincinnati. It was only three miles to the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason on Saturday.

“We still have some unpacking to do here,” Cicero said, “but we’re up and running on site.”

Since the time he was hired in mid-May — he officially started his position May 31 — Cicero, 47, has been on the go learning the ins and outs of the professional tennis world.

After 13 years as the director of corporate sales and marketing for the Cincinnati Bengals, and prior to that working for the Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette University, Cicero is getting his first taste in tennis.

“I’m certainly getting up to speed on all the people involved in the sport itself,” said Cicero, a Milwaukee native. “That’s across the board with people at the ATP, WTA, the players, the players’ representatives, the people here internally involved in the operation. The staff we’ve got here is strong, and that makes the transition much, much easier.”

After former tournament director Bruce Flory was relieved of his duties earlier this year, Cincinnati Tennis LLC — which 90 percent of it is owned by the USTA — hired a search firm, Ascension Sports Partners out of Mason, to do a national search for Flory’s replacement.

It didn’t have to look far to find Cicero.

“He comes to us with great sports experience,” said Elaine Bruening, CEO of Cincinnati Tennis LLC. “Even though tennis is new to him, the same principles can transfer over. He has a great sales background, great communication skills, he’s very polished and a true professional. He’s caught on quickly so far.”

Cicero, with his wife Lisa and their two daughters, relocated to the area from Detroit in 1998 when he started with the Bengals. Their home in Mason was the first one they looked at, and after considering about 20 different locations, they kept coming back to Mason.

That meant that when the tennis tournament arrived each summer, Cicero was there as a fan — each of the last 13 years.

“Every time I came out here,” Cicero said, “I was always impressed with the people working the tournament and how well the operation ran.”

There are 10 full-time employees on the staff, but when tournament time comes — this year it’s a combined event for the first time Aug. 13-21 — more than 1,400 volunteers and 40 interns are added.

“I’m jumping into a fortunate situation,” Cicero said. “Anytime someone changes roles and there’s a positive infrastructure around you, that makes a world of difference.”

Cicero immediately got his feet wet last month by traveling overseas for Wimbledon, spending five days in London for meetings and to watch the tournament’s early rounds.

“I was thinking about the travels I’ve done in the NFL, NBA and college athletics, and that was probably the most impressive sporting facility I’ve seen in my life,” Cicero said. “They had the best of the best (players), much like the same group that’s coming here to Cincinnati.”

As the Western & Southern Open moves forward after this year’s watershed event, Cicero’s goal is simple: To make it even better in 2012.

“It says a lot about our organization when you can take somebody from the most profitable sports league in the entire world and bring him over to tennis,” said Will Sikes, marketing director for the tournament. “It tells you something about our stature and status of our tournament. We’re the real deal.”

Come the fall, though, there’s no question in Cicero’s mind where he’ll be.

Now a season-ticket holder for the Bengals, he’ll enjoy the NFL each Sunday without having to fulfill any job responsibilities.

“I’ll be able to tailgate and enjoy it without having a suit and tie on,” Cicero said. “Now that will be some recreation.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.

The Cicero File

Age: 47

Residence: Mason

Family status: Married to Lisa; two daughters, Mary Faye, a freshman at UD, and Anna, a freshman at Mason High School.

Hobbies: Working out, reading John Grisham books, spending time with daughters.

Twitter: @VCicero

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