Louis Armstrong Stadium (1978-2016)

Coordinates: 40°45′03.4″N 73°50′43.8″W / 40.750944°N 73.845500°W / 40.750944; -73.845500

Louis Armstrong Stadium
as seen from Arthur Ashe Stadium
Location USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing, Queens, New York City
Owner USTA
Capacity 10,200
18,000 (approximate, prior to construction of Arthur Ashe Stadium)
Surface DecoTurf
Construction
Opened 1978
Closed 2016
Demolished October 2016
Architect Rossetti Architects
Tenants
US Open (USTA) (1978–2016)

Louis Armstrong Stadium was a tennis stadium of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and one of the venues of the U.S. Open. Armstrong was the main stadium before Arthur Ashe Stadium opened in 1997, after which it served as the No. 2 stadium. It is named after the noted jazz musician Louis Armstrong, who lived nearby until his death in 1971 and was a significant player in the Civil Rights Movement.

Original stadium

Inside Armstrong Stadium during the 2006 US Open.
Inside Armstrong Stadium during the 2006 US Open.

The stadium was originally built as the Singer Bowl for the 1964 New York World's Fair, and hosted special events and concerts afterwards. In the early 1970s, the United States Tennis Association was looking for a new place to host the U.S. Open as relations with the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, which had hosted the tournament, were breaking down. The USTA was initially unable to find a sufficient site, but the association's incoming president, W.E. Hester saw the old Singer Bowl from the window of an airplane flying into LaGuardia Airport. The old, long rectangular stadium was heavily renovated and divided into two venues, becoming the square Louis Armstrong Stadium, with the remaining third becoming the attached Grandstand, the third largest stadium at the US Open, with a seating capacity of about 6,000.[1]

In 1997, the stadium was replaced as the Open's primary venue by Arthur Ashe Stadium. Armstrong Stadium was renovated again, with the top tiers of seating being removed. The stadium held close to 18,000 at its peak, but this was reduced to around 10,200 with the renovation, which also added a brick facade to match that of Ashe Stadium.

The stadium was demolished in October 2016.[2]

Current stadium

A new 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium opened for the 2018 US Open. This new stadium features a retractable roof, the largest of its kind among the No. 2 stadiums at Grand Slam sites. On each side of the stadium there will be façades that are covered with terra cotta louvers, optimally positioned to keep rain out, yet porous to maintain natural ventilation. Designers say the terra cotta material contextually relates to the traditional brick buildings on the site while using the material in a new way. For the 2017 tournament, while construction was still ongoing on the new Louis Armstrong Stadium, a temporary 8,800-seat stadium was built on the site of the demolished ticket office and East Gate entrance, on Parking Lot B, close to the boardwalk ramp to the subway and LIRR trains.[3]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "The US Open 2010 – Grand Slam Tennis – Official Site". Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  2. ↑ http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/galleries/2016-12-15/open_lens_louis_armstrong_and_grandstand_demolition.html?chip=1
  3. ↑ http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2016-12-19/louis_armstrong_stadium_december_2016_update.html?chip=1

Sources

  • "Ashe & Armstrong Stadiums". United States Tennis Association's official website. Retrieved June 30, 2005.

External Galleries

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