BY BETH DEDMAN
The BIG3 and United State Tennis Association partnered to bring FIREBALL3 to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The BIG3 will host its second weekend festival of the 2020 season in New York at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s Louis Armstrong Stadium on Saturday, June 27.
Tickets for the event will go on sale March 13.
BIG3 plans to use the entire National Tennis Center for a range of family-friendly events. There will be a FIREBALL3 and entertainment festival each week of the season with six straight games June 27, high-profile musical performances throughout the event and YOUNG3 clinics in the community all weekend.
“This season embodies what it means to continue getting bigger, better and bolder for the BIG3,” BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube said. “Our goal has always been to be the most undeniably innovative pro sports league in the world, and we are excited to announce this unique opportunity to bring FIREBALL3 to New Yorkers and our millions of fans globally. We are ‘bringing the fire’ to the new Louis Armstrong Stadium and it’s only fitting that the court will continue to see some of the best athletes in the world — no matter the sport.”
After completing a five-year renovation that cost $650 million, the Louis Armstrong Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center can hold 14,000 fans and is the first-ever self-ventilated stadium with a retractable roof.
The announcement of the FIREBALL3 partnership came after the official creation of FIREBALL3 as a new global sport, lowering the minimum age to qualify for athletes from 27 to 22 to continue to increase competitiveness, a new “Bring the Fire” rule that allows teams one challenge per half resulting in an in-game one-on-one with the victor winning the call, no longer requiring professional basketball experience and encouraging the best athletes in the world to try out.
“The USTA is excited to welcome some of the world’s most talented athletes to the home of the world’s biggest stage in tennis,” said Danny Zausner, chief operating officer, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. “For many years, Louis Armstrong Stadium has held some of the greatest match-ups and rivals in tennis, and now we get to bring fans another display of greatness and competition. We are looking forward to transforming our entire facility into an exciting and entertaining spectacle for BIG3 fans from our backyard of Queens and throughout New York City.”
Many former Knicks and Nets stars will headline the event including last season’s BIG3 MVP Joe Johnson and brand-new addition to the league Zach Randolph.
More information about BIG3 is available at big3.com.
This story originally appeared on amny.com.
