The combined ATP/WTA Western & Southern Open plans to build a new $25M hospitality and viewing venue between its two main courts at Lindner Family Tennis Center, with the groundbreaking planned immediately following the conclusion of next month’s tournament in Cincinnati. The structure will replace the current building and will more than double the interior space for fans and amenities. Center Court seating will increase by 283 seats to 11,750. The project is scheduled to be complete in time for the ’18 event. It was designed by Indianapolis-based architecture firm Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer). In Cincinnati, Brennan & Phillippou note the expansion will produce a new 40,000-square-foot, 104-foot-tall-structure, and the second floor will "feature a restaurant and bar as well as 252 indoor, air-conditioned box seats behind glass -- presumed to be the first of their kind in professional tennis." The floor above will have 396 "new outdoor box seats and concession stands, while the fourth floor will have six all-inclusive suites." The top story will "offer a press box and broadcast booths." New for this year's Western & Southern will be a "practice court for the competition's marquee players," part of $5M worth of "ongoing work on the property." Also, lighting will be "added to two existing courts, bringing the total number of lighted courts on the property to eight" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 7/14).
