The USTA wanted to make sure the new roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium "was the star" of the opening day of the U.S. Open yesterday, and patrons last night "found the massive roof closed and the arena filled with a wafting dry ice fog, a touch of surreality," according to Jeff Williams of NEWSDAY. The opening night ceremony featured Phil Collins singing "In The Air Tonight" after statements from N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio, King and USTA Chair Katrina Adams (NEWSDAY, 8/30). In N.Y., Brian Lewis writes the roof was the "star of the night." King said Arthur Ashe Stadium now "stands as one of the greatest stages in our sport." Lewis notes as Collins sang "In The Air Tonight," the roof and doors "parted in near-perfect sync." The night "was essentially perfect -- at least for the roof" (N.Y. POST, 8/30). USTA Exec Dir & COO Gordon Smith said of the roof, "I wish I could say that I did it. We had an unbelievable team ... (and) it's happened and it's phenomenal." He added, "We've been studying this for well over 10 years. We're on some of the worst ground conditions you can imagine. The stadium would not support it. We had to essentially build a building over a building to do this, and we had to wait for technology to come around to do this in an efficient way" ("U.S. Open," Tennis Channel, 8/30).
TWO-FOR-ONE DEAL: USA TODAY's Nick McCarvel notes the tennis center's new Grandstand stadium opened yesterday, an 8,100-seat "circular stadium with spaceship-like qualities, a canopy overhang and geometric shapes jutting from it on the outside." It is "clear that the 'old' Grandstand was the inspiration to make [the] 'new' Grandstand stand out among modern-day tennis arenas." The USTA has "overhauled the look and feel of what is known as the south campus," as walkways are "noticeably wider and new facades are a modern gray." The USTA has "room for some 10,000 more fans (bringing grounds capacity to 50,000), though they do not plan to sell as many tickets each day." The Grandstand stadium for now "is the jewel" (USA TODAY, 8/30). Smith said of the new Grandstand, "I swear to you I believe it's as fine a place to watch tennis as exists in the world" ("U.S. Open," Tennis Channel, 8/29). In N.Y., David Waldstein notes for "one year only -- and perhaps for only a few more days -- there are two Grandstands" at the tennis center. One is the "flashy new 16-sided" Grandstand stadium, while the other is the "old Grandstand, a gritty shoe box that holds about 6,000 fans." The old Grandstand has "long been a fan favorite." It was "supposed to have been used only as a practice court this year and then torn down," but because of a problem with the surface at Court 10, organizers "decided on Saturday to use the old Grandstand for matches." Yesterday afternoon, as temperatures rose, "players and fans alike seemed to appreciate the new stadium." Player Taylor Townsend said, "The court is amazing. It's beautiful. I didn’t realize how big it was until people started to come in and started to get a little more packed and people started cheering" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/30). TENNIS.com's Nina Pantic noted the bowl-shaped new stadium yesterday "provided asymmetrical coverage from the unforgivable sun on a blazing hot day" (TENNIS.com, 8/29).
TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE: ESPN.com's Peter Bodo noted the roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium "might be the talk -- and ultimately the savior and star -- of this year's event, but the toupee hasn't radically altered the stadium's structure nearly as much as a massive renovation has transformed roughly half of the US Open's 45 acres." Anchoring the southwest corner of the grounds, the new Grandstand "has food concessions at ground level, in the shadow of its bowl." Walkways flow from the Grandstand to the south plaza, which in years past "has often been overcrowded." But all the courts on the south side "have been moved back about 30 feet, allowing for a significant expansion of the nearby plaza." That includes the "space around the fountains and the statue of Arthur Ashe." Now, every court "feels a little bit like a center court," which is a "significant achievement" (ESPN.com, 8/29). ESPN's Chris McKendry called it a "marvelous transition." ESPN's Chris Evert: "When we first moved over to here from Forest Hills, I was thinking, 'We're not going to have that feeling of just being close to the fans and it's going to be so cold and big. But now, that's the way tennis is. It's big business, a lot of fans, a lot of TV and it's just changed so completely." ESPN's Darren Cahill: "We'll see a better quality of tennis" ("U.S. Open," ESPN, 8/29).
