Nottingham City Council bosses announced their "extreme disappointment" at having Nottingham Open removed from the ATP Tour. The event had, according to the council, been partly responsible for stimulating interest in tennis in Nottingham. Roger Draper, the head of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) responded by saying that the changes would introduce tennis to a "new audience". It was announced later in 2008 that Nottingham would host a new tennis event, the Aegon Nottingham Trophy, in lieu of the Surbiton Trophy, which was cancelled, in 2009. The new event was an ATP Challenger Series event, one level lower than the main ATP Tour. The Nottingham Tennis Centre, which had hosted the Open, had undergone refurbishments costing £735,000 in 2008, and councillor Dave Trimble called it "great news" to have a new tennis event in the city.
