The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells plans to "build a third stadium by the 2017 tennis tournament that will also include a museum," according to Andrew John of the Palm Springs DESERT SUN. Assuming event owner Larry Ellison approves the project, construction is "expected to begin immediately following the March 2016 tournament with the expectation that it will be ready for use within 12 months." Stadium 3, which would replace the existing Court 3, would have a capacity around 5,000 and would give Indian Wells the "first tennis museum in the world to be incorporated within a stadium." BNP Paribas Open CEO Raymond Moore and Tournament Dir Steve Simon already have filed paperwork with the city of Indian Wells "that details what the stadium will look like and how it will function," and the City Council "has since unanimously approved the plans." The museum would "sheathe the outside of the stadium on the northwest side, creating two floors of glass on the outer layer facing the Circle of Palms and an open pavilion area with two shade structures." California-based Keisker & Wiggle Architects will "oversee the construction" of the stadium. With the addition of a museum, facilities at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden "are expected to be open for close to 10 months a year, making the site much more active year-round." That would allow the "fine-dining restaurants to operate for much of the year as opposed to just a couple weeks in March." The museum would differ from the Int'l Tennis HOF in Newport, R.I., as Moore earlier this year indicated that it would "focus on the history of the tournament and winners in Indian Wells" (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 7/20).
