USTA Reveals Design For New Roof Over Arthur Ashe Stadium

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USTA Reveals Design For New Roof Over Arthur Ashe Stadium

By Erik Gudris / August 15, 2013

After years of debate and rain delays, Arthur Ashe Stadium will get a new roof as part of the U.S. Open's $550 million expansion plan.

(Photo Credit: USTA/ROSSETTI)

After much debate and five straight U.S. Open men's finals postponed due to rain, Arthur Ashe Stadium will finally get a roof.

USTA officials made the long awaited announcement Thursday during a press conference in New York that gave more specific details on the $550 million expansion plan for the U.S. Open and Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, including revealing an artist's rendering of how the new site will look once finished.

Along with a new roof for the main stadium, the site will contain a new Louis Armstrong stadium, a new 8,000-seat Grandstand arena, increased viewer seating for the practice courts and additional upgrades to improve traffic flow allowing for up to 10,000 additional fans to attend the two-week Grand Slam.

“We have been working toward a viable design for a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium for more than a decade,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and 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.”

Working with ROSSETTI, the original design firm and architect of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the USTA approved a new design concept that will employ a lightweight PTFE fabric similar to Teflon that will allow enough sunlight into the arena while providing ample cooling and watershed capabilities. The roof will be able to be fully closed in five to seven minutes.

The goal is to begin preliminary work starting in 2014. Construction is expected to take two full years to complete after the end of each U.S. Open, with the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof being ready and operational at the earliest in 2016 but most likely in 2017.

Phase two of the expansion plan would be the building of the new 8,000-seat Grandstand court starting in 2014 and finished in time for the 2015 U.S. Open. The new 15,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium, which will also have its own roof, is scheduled to be completed and ready by 2018.

With additional improvements planned for entrance areas, walkways, retail locations and more, the site is expected to allow for up to 50,000 fans in attendance for each of the day sessions.

Because of the improvements, starting in 2015 the U.S. Open will hold the women's final on Saturday and the men's final on Sunday afternoon.

“We have an aggressive construction agenda for the entire National Tennis Center, with a new Grandstand Court built in time for the 2015 US Open, new retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium by 2017, and a new Louis Armstrong Stadium opening for the 2018 US Open,” said Gordon Smith, USTA Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. “We recognize there are many known, and certainly many unknown, hurdles we will have to confront to meet this schedule. We are ready for the challenge and hope we can achieve it.”

Follow Erik Gudris on Twitter @ATNtennis

(Photo Credit: USTA/Rossetti)