The organizers of the US Open presented their new stadium for the second largest place of the facility for the first time on Thursday. The Louis Armstrong Stadium, named after the Center Court after Arthur Ashe, will be the second weatherproof court of the tournament in August.
The completion of the roofing is the last phase of a five-year renovation in Flushing Meadows without ever disrupting play at the US Open. The total renovation costs at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center are said to have added up to 600 million US dollars.
“If you now have a ticket to the US Open, you can be sure that you will see tennis no matter what the weather is like,” said USTA President Katrina Adams.
The roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium has been in operation since 2016. Immediately afterwards, construction work began on Louis Armstrong. A temporary space with a capacity of 8,500 spectators was built for the previous year. The finished stadium will cost 200 million US dollars and have space for 14,000 fans.
It will also be the first naturally ventilated stadium with a retractable roof. Openings on the north and south sides provide air supply while the roof is closed. It will be closed for five minutes.
“The days when 500 spectators queued up to come to the stadium are hopefully history with the many new courts,” said Danny Zausner, Managing Director of the National Tennis Center.
Three day-session matches and one in the evening hours are to be held at Louis Armstrong Square on the first nine days. A total of 40,000 seats are available for spectators in the event of rain.