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At the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Louis Armstrong Stadium has been leveled in preparation for the construction of its replacement.
Photo by: COURTESY OF USTA
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The U.S. Tennis Association’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center paid Hunt Construction Group $109 million last year, or more than the WTA Tour and ATP Tour each paid out in total prize money.
The figure, contained in the center’s recently filed tax return for 2015, is not necessarily a shock, given the USTA is in the final phase of a $600 million-plus renovation of the tennis center in New York City, host of the annual U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
When asked whether the figure is large, National Tennis Center managing director Danny Zausner replied in an email, “Not really when you think that $1B+ stadiums get built thru contractors in 2-3 years.”
The figure offers a snapshot on the size of the project and it’s unusual to see a single year’s payment to one contractor exceeding the total compensation paid out to all of one sport’s athletes.
The ATP paid $90 million in prize money in 2015 and the WTA $61 million. The groups are separate from the USTA.
The U.S. Open, though, is a financial juggernaut, bringing in nearly $300 million in revenue from the two-week event. In 2014, the National Tennis Center borrowed $400 million from banks led by JPMorgan Chase to finance the massive renovation project.
The renovation includes a recently completed roof over the main stadium and the construction of a new No. 2 stadium, scheduled to open in 2018.
The next-highest-paid contractor at the center in 2015 was the architect Rossetti, at $5.6 million, according to the tax return. In 2014, the center paid Hunt $31 million.
The tax return also discloses compensation of top executives. Zausner earned $989,859 in 2015, while his boss, USTA Executive Director Gordon Smith, earned $1.195 million, according to the National Tennis Center tax return.
At the ATP, President Chris Kermode earned $1.1 million, according to that group’s recently filed tax return. Former WTA Chief Executive Officer Stacey Allaster, who resigned in October 2015, earned $1.1 million for roughly nine months that year, according to the WTA’s recently filed tax return. She was replaced by Steve Simon. The tax return shows him having earned $319,367 that year, though some of that is also for his work previously as a board member.
The USTA hired Allaster in March as head of pro tennis. The USTA tax return covers 2015, so it did not disclose her compensation.
Other top-earning tennis executives in 2015 include USTA Chief Revenue Officer Lew Sherr at $1 million; WTA President Micky Lawler at $828,100; and Kurt Kamperman, the CEO of USTA community tennis, at $831,907.
The USTA also appears to have reduced the compensation for its general manager of high performance tennis, which funds up-and-coming professional players. In late 2014, Patrick McEnroe stepped down from the position, and earned $899,815 that year. His replacement, Martin Blackman earned $342,349 in 2015 (he started June 1). The USTA continued to pay McEnroe in 2015. He earned $886,820, suggesting he left with more time left on his contact.
