Jeff Church: Charleston Open’s behind-the-scenes maestro

Twenty-three years ago, Jeff Church began working on Daniel Island alongside a giant hole in the ground. From his office trailer next to the future Credit One Stadium, Church served as the liaison between the construction company building the venue and the City of Charleston.

 

Now director of operations and stadium events for the Credit One Stadium, Church is the guy who manages most behind-the-scenes happenings for the Charleston Open tennis tournament, concerts, and other festivities. He’s responsible for the layout and installation of tents and trailers, bleachers and furniture, stage gear and power generators, and the safety of all structures. During events, he oversees TV production, stadium security and medical services before directing teardown and cleanup at the end of the night.

 

“You have to be the leader of the orchestra and manage who’s coming and who’s going at all times,” he said. “Everything else is a matter of adding all the nice touches that we always do to make it a world-class event.”

 

Since Feb. 13, when his crew began setting up for the 2023 Credit One Charleston Open, the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America, Church has had one day off from work. Fortunately, he likes to stay busy. 

 

“The best thing is, for tennis or concerts, just to see that people are here enjoying themselves,” he said. “We’re on the entertainment side of the business, so to see all your hard work come to fruition and for people to smile and enjoy themselves and say the place looks wonderful; that’s the perk of the job.”

 

Since the stadium’s $50 million renovation was completed in 2022, Church’s priority has been to keep the state-of-the-art facility in tiptop condition, especially in the days leading up to the Charleston Open, when he is busy orchestrating the steady stream of contractors, forklifts, and landscaping crews and making sure nobody drives over the grass. 

 

The world’s best female tennis players have noticed his efforts. The Credit One Charleston Open was recently named the Women’s Tennis Association 500 tournament of the year, an honor bestowed by the players who voted among top-notch tour stops around the world. The pristine stadium, stellar staff and southern hospitality were cited as reasons for the accolades.

 

“Before the new stadium it was a matter of trying to do things outside the box and bring in fresh ideas to make the players comfortable and want to come back,” Church said. “A lot of players love this tour because, one, the City of Charleston, and two, the way we take care of the players and how they’re treated when they’re here.”

 

Credit One Stadium is owned by the City of Charleston and managed by Charleston Tennis, LLC., which funded the renovation as a gift to the city. The makeover attracted a bevy of new events, including 22 concerts last year, and added to Church’s vast array of responsibilities. On concert days, he arrives at the stadium at 5 a.m.

when the caterers and the gear trailers start unloading, and doesn’t leave until the last truck rolls out the gate as late as 2:30 a.m. the next morning.

 

“Every show is different; they all have their quirks,” said Church, who thought the best concert was Elton John because he is a “true legend,” and the nicest crew was with Kenny Chesney, who had 17 tractor trailers, 10 buses, and one steal truck unloaded the day before the performance and had everything out in 90 minutes at the

end of the concert. “They have the record for most tractor trailers and getting them out the fastest.”

 

After the concert season ended last fall, Church’s duties transcended to winter sports when he was asked to construct and manage a holiday ice-skating rink, shipped new from Switzerland with no installation instructions, in the center of the stadium.

 

“It was tasked to me by our ownership, and I said, ‘yeah we can do that,’” said Church, who then had to go online to get certified in installing and managing an ice-skating rink. “Seeing the kids out there having a great time and enjoying themselves was something that made it all worthwhile. It was very successful; it was the buzz of

the island.”

 

The buzz this month is the 2023 Charleston Open, now in full swing, and the world-class tennis players competing on center court. The event is expected to bring more than 90,000 attendees to Daniel Island over its nine-day run, culminating in the championship matches April 9.

 

“The first year it was a novelty and everyone had smiles on their faces,” said Church, who noted that ticket sales were up last year with the debut of the new stadium and that sales have increased again this year. “Obviously they liked what they saw and they’re coming back to do it again.”