FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The WTA Tour's season-ending championships will end a 29-year run at Madison Square Garden and move to Munich, Germany next year, tour officials announced today.

The multi-year agreement was signed this week by representatives of the WTA Tour, Global Tennis Inc. and Octagon Management Co. With the change in venue will come a 50 percent increase in prize money to $3 million. The agreement also will bring the WTA Tour a significant franchise fee as well as enhanced accommodations for players, sponsors and the media.

"The principal reasons are that, first, we had significantly greater prize money, compensation to the tour from this package in Munich than we had in New York," said Bartlett H. McGuire, WTA Tour CEO. "Second, the amenities for sponsors and for the media and for the players will be absolutely first-class. I think those of you who have been to the Grand Slam in Munich would attest to that.

"Third, it gives us an opportunity to shorten the calendar in a way that would have been really impossible to do had we kept it in the United States with a tournament in the United States leading up to The Championships. Fourth, it is really easier for the players to end up the season in Europe than going back yet again across the ocean to the United States."

The 2001 Tour Championship will take place from October 29-November 4. The earlier date will shorten the WTA's schedule by two weeks, achieving the goal of giving players a longer offseason.

"We might have been able to do it by one week if we had stayed in the United States," said McGuire. "By moving to Munich, we don't have to have the event in Philadelphia the week beforehand. That is being moved to Dubai actually early in February. Therefore, we are able to shorten the calendar by two weeks. That's a tremendous plus."

Built for the 1972 Olympics, the Olympia Halle in Munich also was the site of the Grand Slam Cup tournament from 1990-99. Substantially renovated since the Olympics, it seats 11,500 for tennis.

The Championships will retain their present format, featuring the top 16 singles players and top eight doubles teams in the world in single-elimination draws. The finals of both the singles and doubles will take place on the final day of the tournament.