By Joe Anuta
The United States Tennis Association will install a retractable roof over its main stadium to curb Mother Nature’s influence over the US Open, officials announced this week.
Rain delays have recently plagued the two-week tournament, held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, affecting several finals matches over the last few years.
But the new roof, an estimated $100 million addition to Arthur Ashe Stadium, will ensure things run smoothly in the future.
“We have been working toward a viable design for a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium for more than a decade,” said USTA President Dave Haggerty. “Through a long and arduous process, we feel that we now have a design that meets the criteria of being architecturally sound, aesthetically pleasing, reasonably affordable and buildable.”
The rain shield will be made of a special kind of fabric and supported by eight steel supports surrounding the stadium, USTA officials said.
Matt Rossetti, of Rossetti Architects, explained in detail how the steel skeletal structure will support the lightweight teflon skin of the roof, which will also allow light into the arena and curb stiff crosswinds that have typically given one player an advantage over the other.
In the event of rain, the 400-ton retractable panels will take about five to seven minutes to shut, according to Rossetti.
The project is part of a $550 million renovation the USTA is undertaking at the site at its own expense, which will also feature two new stadiums and will proceed in three phases.
Phase 1 will commence after this year’s Open and will also include shifting a series of practice and tournament courts to allow for more viewing platforms and the construction of additional nets.
The second phase of the renovations will feature a new 8,000 Grandstand Stadium in the southwest corner of the property along with relocating some of the field courts and the construction of a new food court and merchandise locations, according to the association.
Lastly, the third phase of the project will involve the construction of the 15,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium.
In total, work is expected to last until 2018.
The National Tennis Center’s Danny Zausner said that for the most part, construction would not impact the surrounding park.
“Our project is, for the most part, self contained,” he said. “We do have some land that is in our lease that we will be doing a lot of staging on.”
Opponents of the USTA’s recent 0.680-acre expansion into Flushing Meadows said the renovations mean more construction days that affect parkgoers.
“There are very few rain days they have anyway. It’s not Wimbledon,” said Geoffrey Croft, of New York City Park Advocates. “This is just showing their further encroachment into the park.”
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
