The U.S. Tennis Association announced on Monday that the site of the U.S. Open in Queens, N.Y., will undergo an $800 million transformation, which is expected to be completed in time for the 2027 Grand Slam event.
The renovation at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which will be funded solely by the USTA, will include a modernization of the 30-year-old Arthur Ashe Stadium along with a new $250 million player performance center.
Construction is set to take place in phases to avoid interrupting the next two U.S. Open tournaments. The USTA called its plan the largest single investment in the history of the event.
“This project enables us to maintain the greatest stage in tennis — Arthur Ashe Stadium — which was constructed more than 25 years ago, and modernize it in a way that will set it up for the next 25 years,” USTA CEO Lew Sherr said in a statement.
“It also provides us the opportunity to give the players that compete in that stadium an unparalleled space that will enable them to perform at their best and enjoy a higher level of luxury and comfort while they are off the court.”
At Ashe — which currently holds nearly 24,000 fans — a grand entrance will be constructed, along with the addition of 2,000 new seats in the courtside-level bowl and a pair of new luxury suite levels. The concourses, dining areas and retail shops will also undergo upgrades.
The player performance will feature expanded fitness and warmup locations both inside and outside, along with revamped locker rooms featuring a “spa-like experience.” The player dining facilities will also undergo a renovation.
Seven years ago, the USTA finished a $600 million, five-year project to renovate the grounds, which included a new Louis Armstrong Stadium. The new stadium, which shares the same name as the original, has a retractable roof and sits just over 14,000 fans.
–Field Level Media
