US Open 2009 : Arthur Ashe Stadium

Overview[ad]

Arthur Ashe Stadium, a part of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center located within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens, is the main tennis stadium of the US Open, the last of each year’s four Grand Slam tournaments, and also where the annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day takes place. The stadium is named after the famous African American tennis player, Arthur Ashe, who won the inaugural US Open in which professionals could compete in 1968.

Background

Opening in 1997, Arthur Ashe Stadium replaced Louis Armstrong Stadium as the primary venue for the tournament. The Stadium, which cost $254 million to construct, features 22,547 individual seats, 90 luxury suites, five restaurants and a two-level players’ lounge — making it, by far, the largest outdoor tennis-only venue in the world. The Stadium, like the other 32 courts in the facility, has a DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface. Due to its location near Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, all these stadiums share the Mets–Willets Point stop on the New York City Subway‘s 7 Train. On July 19, 2008, Arthur Ashe Stadium hosted the first ever regular season professional basketball (men or women) game to be played outdoors when the WNBA Indiana Fever beat the host New York Liberty, 71–55.[1] The game served as a fundraising event for breast cancer research.