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USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER QUICK FACTS T N E M O Total acreage: 46.5 acres A F N N Groundbreaking Ceremony: October 6, 1977 I R U Grand Opening: August 29, 1978 O T Arthur Ashe Stadium Groundbreaking: March 1, 1995 Arthur Ashe Stadium Dedication: August 25, 1997 Louis Armstrong Stadium Re-Dedication: August 30, 1999 USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Dedication: August 28, 2006 S & First US Open match at USTA National Tennis Center: Bjorn Borg, Sweden, d. Bob Hewitt, D Y N T I South Africa, 6-0, 6-2, August 29, 1978, in Louis Armstrong Stadium U L I O First US Open match in Arthur Ashe Stadium: Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand, d. Chanda Rubin, C R A G F Lafayette, La., 6-4, 6-0, August 25, 1997 Number of courts: 49 (4 stadium, 29 outdoor, 12 indoor, 4 indoor clay)* Number of doors & locks: 1,594 Number of public toilets: 488 Number of public pay phones: 12 S & E Number of restaurants: 5 I S T I T Number of cafes: 1 V N I E T Number of kitchens: 12 V C E A Number of food concession stands: 51 Arthur Ashe Stadium: 20 South Plaza: 6 Louis Armstrong Stadium: 8 East Plaza: 2 Food Village: 15 Number of portable concession carts: 71 Number of trash receptacles: 1,260 (580 for recyclables) Y Number of water fountains: 35 R O Number of merchandise stands/stores: 24 T S I Number of elevators: 15 H Arthur Ashe Stadium: 10 plus 3 handicap lifts Louis Armstrong Stadium: 2 plus 1 handicap lift Indoor Training Center: 2 *The four indoor clay courts are not available for the duration of the US Open. S ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM N O T I Height: 190 ft. (120 ft. to broadcast booth level + 70-foot light poles) S P A Number of feet from the court to the top seat in the stadium: 105 M P A Number of light poles: 24 H C Number of Luxury Suites: 90 ( Club Level: 44 Mezzanine Level: 46) Number of elevators: 10 plus 3 handicap lifts Number of escalators: 6 Number of TV studios: 6 Number of broadcast booths: 20 Number of camera positions: 16 Number of media workstations: 347 & S SEATING AT THE USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER C S I T D S R I Stadium Courts Seating Capacity Field Courts Seating Capacity T O A C T Arthur Ashe Stadium 23,771 Court No. 11 1,552 E S R Louis Armstrong Stadium 10,103 Court No. 12 336 Grandstand 6,106 Court No. 13 584 Court No. 17 2,800 Court No. 14 336 Court No. 15 336 Field Courts Seating Capacity Court No. 16 336 Court No. 4 1,066 S R D Court No. 5 1,032 E R Y Court No. 6 1,148 O A C L Court No. 7 1,463 E P R Court No. 8 624 Court No. 9 336 Court No. 10 620 36 THE US OPEN AND NEW YORK T O s e The US Open and the City of New York share a special U g a R I N m N I relationship that dates back almost a century, to 1915, when F y A t t O a national tennis championship of the United States was first M e G played in the Big Apple. E N A study of the US Open in 2010 conducted by AKRF, Inc., T found that the tournament generates approximately $756 million in direct revenue for the tri-state area—more than any other sports or entertainment event in any city in the United States. The US Open has a longer association with the City of the F G New York than such New York City institutions as the Empire A R C O State Building (constructed in 1930), The Tony Awards (first held I L U I T in New York in 1947), Rockefeller Center (created in 1928) and N Y D & Lincoln Center (opened in 1966). The US Open also has a S longer association with New York than some of its most storied sports franchises, including the New York Knicks of the NBA, Serena Williams who started in 1946; the New York Giants of the NFL, who started in 1925; and the New York Mets of Major League Baseball, who began play in 1962. A E C V T E I N THE BEGINNINGS V T I T S I In 1915, the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y., first hosted the U.S. National E & Championships in men’s singles, a precursor to the modern-day US Open. At the time, the event S was strictly limited to amateurs and remained that way until the tournament became “Open” to both professionals and amateurs in 1968 and the name changed from the U.S. National Championships to the US Open. Before 1915, the U.S. Nationals enjoyed a 34-year run at the tournament’s birthplace, the Newport Casino in Newport, R.I. According to Wright and Ditson’s Lawn Tennis Guide , the first tournament in New York was an H I instant success. “The externals and business side of the tournament surpassed anything ever S T attempted in this or any country. Courts, schedule, handling of matches, umpiring, accommoda - O R tions for players and spectators were perfect and the galleries throughout were not only large Y and enthusiastic, but truly appreciative as well.” The men’s singles championships continued at the West Side Tennis Club until 1920, when the event moved to the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia in a short-lived attempt (1921-23) to rotate the championships among different cities. In the absence of the men’s championships, the women’s championships moved to the West Side Tennis Club in 1921. The men’s singles C championships returned to New York City in 1923 upon completion of the 14,000-seat horseshoe H A P stadium at the West Side Tennis Club. The men’s and women’s singles events were played along - M A P side each other in Forest Hills for the next 53 years. S I T O N S USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER In 1978, USTA President W.E. “Slew” Hester spearheaded the move of the US Open from the West Side Tennis Club to the newly constructed USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The new facility, which featured the 18,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium as its centerpiece, was financed R S E T C by the USTA (with no public funding) and built on the grounds of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs. A O T I The move from the private West Side Tennis Club to the public USTA National Tennis Center created R S D T a world-class venue for the US Open and ushered in an era of play on America’s public courts. I S C S In 1997, the USTA opened Arthur Ashe Stadium as its main stadium and expanded the tennis & facilities at the USTA National Tennis Center. The construction increased the number of courts on the grounds from 25 to 45 and saw the acreage more than double to 46.5 acres. In 2006, the USTA renamed the entire facility the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in honor of one of tennis’ finest ambassadors and a product of public courts in her native Long Beach, Calif. Soon thereafter, the USTA began renovation of its indoor complex, unveiling the R P state-of-the-art Chase Center in 2008. E L C A O More renovations are scheduled for the future. In 2011, the US Open added a fourth show court Y R E D with the debut of Court 17, and prior to this year’s US Open, the USTA unveiled its strategic vision R for the future of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which features a retractable roof S on Arthur Ashe Stadium, a new Louis Armstrong Stadium and a new Grandstand located in the southwest corner of the grounds. (See page 11 for more.) 37 USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER T AND ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM N E M O A F The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center—home of the US Open—was renamed in N N I R honor of the tennis legend and trailblazer whose pioneering efforts helped change the sport of U O tennis and launch the drive for gender equality in sports and in society on Opening Night of the T 2006 US Open. The USTA now honors two of the sport’s greatest icons who transcended tennis and gave voice to important cultural issues in this country. In 1997, the USTA named the world’s largest tennis stadium after Arthur Ashe. S & r D Y e d N T l I e U L h I c t O C a R B A n G F a e D S & E I S T I T V N I E T V C E A Y R O T S I H The 1997 US Open witnessed the inauguration of Arthur Ashe Stadium, named after one of tennis’ finest ambassadors and humanitarians. Nine years later, the surrounding grounds were S renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in a special ceremony on Opening N O T I Night of the 2006 US Open. S P A M P A H C A GREAT DEAL FOR NEW YORK CITY Three months into office as the 108th mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg acknowl - edged to former mayor and then-USTA board member David Dinkins what the United States Tennis Association has known for 25 years.