Your dinner with Andre?

David Renzi

Thursday, Sept. 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The dried sweat of Martina Navratilova. Now there's something you can't buy every day.

But that doesn't mean you can't own her sweet smell of success.

Martina's perspiration -- OK, the towel she wiped her brow with at her final Wimbledon -- is just one of the items up for bid in this year's auction portion of the second annual "Grand Slam for Children," tennis star Andre Agassi's star-studded charity event for at-risk children in Las Vegas.

Between the live auction, silent auction and concert, last year's gala raised nearly $2 million. This year's is expected to raise at least that much, what with the stellar selection of treasures on the auction block.

"The whole idea is to create items that are unique and you can't buy," says Richelle Bryant, executive assistant director of the Andre Agassi Foundation.

Such as a date with a certain famous cross-dresser. To the highest bidder goes a night on the town with Dennis Rodman, who will dine and gamble with the lucky winner and a companion. They'll be flown in first-class, given free accommodations and $1,000 in gaming chips.

The rest of the evening is up to the winner and Dennis. Or is that Denise? Oh, well, whatever persona the Bulls' manic rebounder assumes, it's bound to be a great time at the tattoo parlor.

"The sky's the limit," Bryant says.

Other items up for bid at the live auction include:

Official All-Star Night with Andre. The winner and a friend will attend the Official All-Star Cafe (they get testy if you don't capitalize the O in "Official") grand opening in December as Agassi's personal guests. They'll attend a VIP reception and celebrity party (meet Brooke Shields!), and receive two personally signed tennis rackets and official All-Star Cafe memorabilia.

Just Do It with Andre. A day on the set of a forthcoming Nike commercial.

Spring Training with Ken Griffey Jr. A one-on-one training session with Junior at the Seattle Mariners' 1997 spring training camp. Includes an exhibition game, and fielding and batting practice.

Nike Slam Dunk. The athletic shoe company -- which has usurped the Trilateral Commission in running the world -- will host the winner and a guest at the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland (which includes the slam dunk and three-point shooting contests) and the 1997 NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.

Fantastic Day with the 49ers. The winner and three guests will fly by Lear jet to watch a 1997 regular season football game from the private suite of owner Edward DeBartolo. They'll receive a personal escort to the sidelines for a close-up view of both teams during pregame warm-up.

Grand Slam Around the World. The winner and a guest will attend the final and semifinal matches -- but will Andre? -- of all four 1997 Grand Slam tennis tournaments -- the U.S. Open in New York City, Wimbledon in England, the French Open and the Australian Open. Last year's winner bid $75,000 -- the most any item fetched.

The remaining prizes include a yacht cruise to either Mexico or the Caribbean, a "dining experience" with Chef Emeril Lagasse (no relation to Andre Lagasse), who will prepare a seven-course meal in the winner's home; an original artwork depicting Agassi and this year's concert performers by Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood; a 10-day royal equestrian excursion to Germany, where the winner and a friend will be the guests of Prince Heinrich and Princess Milana zu Furstenberg; a trip to the 1997 Indy 500; and golf outing to Scotland.

The silent auction, which precedes the live auction, offers a host of travel packages, autographed sports and celebrity memorabilia and attire, and fashion and home accessories.

"One of the most fantastic items," in Bryant's opinion, is item No. 69 -- an Arabian knight concert costume worn by Elton John and designed by Bob Mackie.

Other prizes of note include a nonspeaking role on both "Friends" and "Home Improvement," an 18-karat solid gold pair of Oakley Square Wire sunglasses (only two pair exist in the world, and Andre has one), and a sterling silver and vermeil-etched tennis can, filled with Agassi-autographed tennis balls.

Bidders also will compete for the opportunity to meet Shaquille O'Neal (ooh) and Wayne Gretzky (ah).

Most of the memorabilia and attire is framed or in shadowboxes. Artfully Framed did the work gratis.

Owners Michael Budnik and Barbara Miro say the work took a couple of weeks, with the shadowboxes consuming the most time.

"I had to build 'em from scratch, and you physically sew the jerseys to the back of the board," Budnik says.

The charities benefitting from the "Grand Slam for Children" are Child Haven, Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas, Assistance League of Las Vegas' Operation School Bell, Nevada Tennis Association and the Cynthia Bunker Memorial Scholarship Fund at UNLV.

"The important thing about this event," Bryant says, "is that whatever someone buys -- be it a $30 concert ticket or a signed jersey for thousands of dollars -- the bottom line is that every person is going to help the kids."