Renovation Of Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Set To Begin In February

The $500M renovation of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center "begins in February, and will continue on and off while the site plays host to the U.S. Open," according to sources cited by Lisa Colangelo of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. The first phase of renovations involves the "installation of piles to help support a new retractable roof above Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park." National Tennis Center COO Danny Zausner said, "We have to host the Open each year, so we had to work on a construction schedule that's longer than we would like." He added that the roof will "remain open most of the time except for the winter months." Zausner said that the expansion plan also includes "moving the 6,000-seat grandstand to another portion of the complex and adding 2,000 seats -- a change that forces seven tennis courts to be shifted southward" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/4).