Grandstand (US Open)

Grandstand is a tennis stadium situated in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York. The stadium which has a capacity to seat 8,125 people, is owned by the United States Tennis Association. The court is the third largest at the national tennis center, after the Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadiums. Built to host the US Open, Grandstand was constructed as part of a redesign of the national tennis center and is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design tennis stadium in the world. The stadium designed by Rossetti Architects and constructed by AECOM is named after a 1978 stadium of the same name.

Grandstand
Grandstand Stadium (left) and Courts 6, 5 & 4 at the 2018 US Open
LocationUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing, Queens, New York City
Coordinates40.747994°N 73.848115°W / 40.747994; -73.848115
OwnerUnited States Tennis Association
Capacity8,125[1]
SurfaceDecoTurf
Construction
Broke ground2015[1]
OpenedAugust 29, 2016
ArchitectRossetti Architects
BuilderAECOM
Tenants
US Open (USTA) (2016–present)

History
The new Grandstand court (l) with the Louis Armstrong Stadium under construction, the site of the original Grandstand court.

Grandstand replaced a court with the same name that was attached to the Louis Armstrong Stadium which opened in 1978 and was decommissioned in 2016.[2][3][4] The court was built as part of the USTA's $550m (£350m) scheme to renovate the National Tennis Center which was announced in August 2013 after obtaining planning permission in May of that year.[5][6][7] The stadium was designed by Rossetti Architects and has a capacity of 8,125 seats and covers an area of 125,000 square foot.[8][9] In addition it has 2,000 reversed ticketed seats in the lower bowl, with the rest being allocated on a first come first served basis.[4][10] Construction of the court by AECOM began in 2015.[1][11][12][13] Approximately 30 percent of the steel structure was in place by the time of the 2015 US Open.[14] Four days after the tournament construction recommenced and the last steel piece was installed in December 2015.[15] The court made its debut on August 29, 2016, the first day of the 2016 championships.[1] Caroline Wozniacki beat Taylor Townsend 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the first match held on the court.[16][17][18]

Architecture

The stadium is situated in the Southwest corner of the National Tennis Center to help alleviate crowd issues and to distribute people more evenly.[9] An estimated 20% of visitors to the site had been relocated due to the change.[19] The tennis center was increased by 30 feet to have enough room to construct the new Grandstand court, however the USTA gave 1.56 acres of land back to compensate.[19][20][7] The court itself was built on an old parking lot.[21]

Inside Grandstand during a match between Caroline Garcia and Monica Puig.

The court has 16 sides and rises higher on the southwest corner and lower in the northeast corner.[20] This design offers view of the grounds on the upper walkways and spectators in Arthur Ashe stadium are able to look into Grandstand.[19] Although the court has 16 sides it looks round which is deliberate to create a diversity of shapes of the stadiums on the site.[19] It was made clear to the design team that spectators loved the intimacy and the shade of the old Grandstand and these features were incorporated into the design; with more seats in the stadium positioned in shady spots.[22][21] The court is 18 feet below ground level. Due to its closeness to Flushing Meadows, the stadium was built with texture designed to be an "interesting folly" to patrons in the park.[10] The outside of the stadium is made up by 400 panels of PTFE fabric to achieve this effect.[20] Grandstand also contains a large retail store facing the main plaza and has several food vendors within its 360 degree concourse.[19][22]

Grandstand is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design tennis stadium in the world.[23] The stadium claimed the NYCxDesign Award in the Outdoor/Urban Landscape category.[24] The stadium also received an honourable mention in The Architect's Newspaper Best of Design Award in Facade.[25]

Transport
A R33 World's Fair subway car leading the Train of Many Colors at Mets–Willets Point.

The New York City Subway and Long Island Rail Road both serve the northern end of Flushing Meadows park which is where the tennis centre that Grandstand is in is situated. The IRT Flushing Line subway station at Mets–Willets Point serves the 7 and <7>​ trains, and the similarly named LIRR station serves the Port Washington Branch. These stations are located at the northern end of the park adjacent to the Corona Yard and bus depot, primarily serving Citi Field and the national tennis centre.[26][27] The Q48 bus from Flushing to La Guardia Airport serves the tennis centre.[28][29]

References
  1. "Grandstand makes its debut". USOpen.org. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  2. "US Open Stadium Debuts and Swansongs".
  3. "Arthur Ashe roof and new Grandstand near completion at National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows".
  4. "America's Court: Much has been gained, and a little lost, in the new Grandstand".
  5. "US Tennis plans roof over main Arthur Ashe Stadium". BBC Sport. 15 August 2013.
  6. "USTA Officially Announces New Retractable Roof for Arthur Ashe Stadium".
  7. "National Tennis Center Strategic Vision Project : NYC Parks".
  8. "Usta National Tennis Center Gears up for Completion of Master Plan". 6 June 2016.
  9. "New Grandstand Tennis Stadium Gears up for Its 2016 US Open Debut". 22 June 2016.
  10. "Matt Rossetti: Architect of American Tennis Stadiums".
  11. "USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center".
  12. https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2015-08-06/arthur_ashe_roof_structure_complete_work_begins_on_grandstand.html
  13. "Construction of roof for US Open progressing as planned over Arthur Ashe Stadium".
  14. https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2016-02-29/the_us_open_everyone_will_want_to_come_to.html
  15. https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2016-01-04/qa_us_open_transformation_update.html
  16. "American Townsend inaugurates new Grandstand with near upset". 30 August 2016.
  17. "Wozniacki gives US Open Grandstand dream dramatic kickoff". 30 August 2016.
  18. "Caroline Wozniacki Joins Bjorn Borg, Tamarine Tanasugarn in US Open Trivia Book with Win on New Grandstand".
  19. "There are new ways to experience the U.S. Open, and it's only just begun".
  20. "What's new around the grounds at 2016 U.S. Open".
  21. Kimmelman, Michael (26 August 2018). "New Courts, Old Spirit: The National Tennis Center Turns 40". The New York Times.
  22. McCarvel, Nick (29 August 2016). "New Grandstand impresses players at U.S. Open". USA Today.
  23. https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-04-25/us_open_green_initiatives_rooted_in_flushing_meadows.html
  24. "Grandstand Stadium Wins NYC x Design Award". 24 May 2017.
  25. "2016 Best of Design Award in Facade: Vagelos Education Center". 15 December 2016.
  26. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: neighborhood". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  27. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: neighborhood". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  28. "Flushing Meadows Corona Park Strategic Framework Plan; Vision & Goals" (PDF). Part 2. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation: 38. Retrieved November 12, 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
External video
Coco Gauff vs Amanda Anisimova US Open Juniors Final 2017 on Grandstand on YouTube
Frances Tiafoe vs John Isner US Open 2016 Round 1 on Grandstand on YouTube
Sofia Kenin vs Coco Vandeweghe US Open 2019 R1 on Grandstand on YouTube
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