The USTA's new facility at the National Tennis Center
in New York will be named Arthur Ashe Stadium. USTA
President Harry Marmion: "We didn't have any corporate
offers and we never looked for any." In N.Y., Dave Anderson
called the name a "gift for everybody who has attended the
Open, or will attend it. ... Tennis has a $234 million
expansion project named for someone who meant something not
only to the game, but to the nation, if not the world" (N.Y.
TIMES, 2/20). In Boston, Bud Collins writes, "Occasionally,
the US Tennis Association does something right," but adds
that the name "almost didn't happen. An organization with a
long history of obtuse decisions nearly blew it." Collins:
"Raising Ashe to the masthead creates good feeling, a
reminder of the broadening of the sport that he stood for.
But the USTA had better not forget that this will be only a
hypocritical play if it doesn't follow through on his
ideals. That means putting much more of its resources into
minority participation, and enabling many more kids to get
into Ashe Stadium, at a low price, even for free, to build a
fan base" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/20).
