TENNIS-USTA/ROOF Final steel piece tops off Arthur Ashe Stadium's future retractable roof

Record ID: 150847

  • Title: TENNIS-USTA/ROOF Final steel piece tops off Arthur Ashe Stadium's future retractable roof
  • Date: 10th June 2015
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 10, 2015) (REUTERS) PAN UP FROM ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM TENNIS COURT TO STEEL BEAMS VARIOUS OF FINAL PIECE OF STEEL WITH U.S. FLAG BEING PLACED ON ROOF OF STADIUM VARIOUS OF U.S. FLAG WIDE OF FINAL PIECE OF STEEL OVER STADIUM GORDON SMITH, USTA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) GORDON SM
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAE0B3AA3N2O31BT78BWH63450B
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The final piece of steel was placed on a structure that will support the U.S. Open's retractable roof for the massive Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City on Wednesday (June 10).
    The roof will take five minutes to open or close and will be ready for any raindrops by the 2016 tournament.
    Gordon Smith, executive director of the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), said the finished product will be spectacular.
    "It's the largest tennis stadium in the world, so it's going to now be the largest roofed tennis stadium in the world," he said.
    "It's 10 million pounds of steel. It's 1,700 separate beams. It's 115,000 bolts holding it together, so it is massive."
    Being able to cover the main court at the U.S. Open brings the championship in line with Wimbledon and the Australian Open, which both have retractable roofs over center court. The French Open has also announced plans to cover its main court.
    The U.S. Open is no stranger to rain. With the tournament final postponed to Mondays so many times from 2008 to 2012, that organizers begin to schedule the men's final on a Monday to allow for weather delays.
    "The running joke is that once the roof is functional in 2016 it probably won't rain for 10 years, but that's okay, we'll have a roof if in fact it does rain during the tournament," said Daniel Zausner, chief operating officer of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
    Opened in 1997, Arthur Ashe Stadium has a 22,500 capacity, making it by far the largest tennis arena in the world, and covering it posed unique problems.
    Poor soil conditions contributed to the challenge of building a new roof over the stadium, with the project taking about 11 years for engineers and architects to try and figure out a way for the stadium not to sink or collapse under the weight of a roof. The soil in the Flushing Meadows site in the borough of Queens was one of the worst land conditions in the entire New York City, according to Zausner, as it used to be used as the ash dump for Manhattan.
    Officials also wanted to retain the open, park-like ambience of the Tennis Center, requiring a design that would allow for a wide opening above the stadium for nice weather.
    Engineers last year drove 25 concrete encased piles about 200 feet deep into each corner of the stadium's octagon to support the weight of the roof.
    The $500 million (USD) privately funded transformation also calls for a rebuilt, 15,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium with its own retractable roof and a new 8,000-seat Grandstand Court that will be moved across the complex.
    The redesign of the Tennis Center, which opened in 1978, will also help with the flow of spectators across the grounds by eliminating the congestion caused by the previous proximity of the three main courts.
    After the project is completed by 2018, the USTA will be able to accommodate 10,000 additional fans per day session for the first eight days of the tournament.
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