CARSON, CA - The Home Depot Center will host the upcoming USTA Challenger professional men's tennis tournament October 24th through October 30th, 2005.  The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in Covington, La., the week of September 12th, but was relocated to The Home Depot Center due to the recent hurricanes in the Gulf Coast.

\"The Home Depot Center has a long-standing relationship with the USTA and is proud to provide a new venue for the USTA Challenger and looks forward to hosting this strong field of players,\" says Home Depot Center Managing Director Bill Peterson.

The week-long tournament is free admission and has a draw composed of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams.  Players compete for valuable ATP ranking points as well as $50,000 in prize money. Matches will begin at 10:00 a.m. Monday, October 24 and continue through Friday, October 28.  Weekend matches will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23.   Qualifying takes place on Saturday, October 22 with matches beginning at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 23.

The following players are expected to compete in this year championships: Jan Michael Gambill, Justin Gimelstob, Bobby Reynolds, Brian Baker, Amer Delic, Robert Kendrick, Cecil Mamiit, Rajeev Ram, Brian Vahaly, and Glenn Weiner. Admission to The Home Depot Center USTA Challenger is free but parking fee is subject to other concurrent Home Depot Center events.

About the USTA Pro Circuit
With 96 tournaments throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100.000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals.  More than 1,100 men and women from 79 countries competed on the USTA Pro Circuit in 2004 for nearly $3 million in prize money and valuable ATP and WTA Tour ranking points.  Andre Agassi, James Blake, Lindsay Davenport, Mardy Fish, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova are among today's top stars that began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit.  For more information, please visit procircuit.usta.com.

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California's new home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes.  The $150 million privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California.  The Home Depot Center features a 13,000-seat stadium for tennis, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby, lacrosse & other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 20,000-seat facility for track & field, the ADT Event Center, a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is home of the USA Tennis High Performance Training Center as well as the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation.  The \"complex, \" which is also the home of the nationally recognized Athletes Performance training center for elite and professional athletes has additionally be designated \"official\" training sites for USA Cycling, United States Track & Field, the USTA and the AVP.