Latest news with #DannyZausner
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Your honey deuces are paying for a $800 million Arthur Ashe Stadium overhaul
This week, the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) announced that it's putting the revenue from selling U.S. Open tickets and $23 signature Honey Deuce cocktails toward a new cause: Completing an $800 million renovation of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (NTC), the sports complex that hosts the annual tennis championship. The renovation represents the single largest investment in U.S. Open history, according to a press release published by the USTA. It will encompass a full transformation of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where championship games are played, as well as a luxe new player performance center on the NTC's campus. The work will be spearheaded by the architectural firm Rossetti, which designed Arthur Ashe stadium back in 1994 and has since returned to add a retractable roof to the building, as well as two supplementary stadiums within the complex. This update will bring the lifetime construction cost of Arthur Ashe stadium to over $1 billion. This latest round of renovations is set to be completed by the 2027 U.S. Open, with three construction phases planned to avoid conflicts with scheduled play in the intervening years. The updates are designed to dramatically increase the stadium's capacity and to create a more modern, luxurious experience for both fans and athletes. 'Every square inch' of the stadium is being revamped, from the club level to the lounge and the promenade, Danny Zausner, chief operating officer at the USTA, told reporters in an interview this week. Here's a rundown. What's new at Arthur Ashe stadium The design vision for the Arthur Ashe stadium will be apparent to guests before they even enter the venue. Based on renderings provided by the USTA, a new Grand Entrance will usher viewers into the space through a two-story, futuristic silver ring arcing above the doorways. Inside, the stadium itself will be almost entirely overhauled. Per the press release, the promenade-level concourse, where guests typically gather and mingle, will be sized up by 40%; more escalators and elevators will be added to every level; and an upward extension of the courtside-level bowl will increase its capacity from 3,000 to 5,000 attendees. Arthur Ashe Stadium's overall capacity of 24,000, which makes it the largest tennis stadium in the world, will remain the same as the design team plans to relocate seating to this bowl from other parts of the arena. New amenities will also include modernized concorses with all-new retail, food, and beverage spaces, added clubs and restaurants, and two new dedicated luxury suite levels—presumably catering to the U.S. Open's coterie of VIP guests. '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,' Lew Sherr, CEO and executive director of USTA, said in the press release. '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.' 'Spa-like' athlete facilities While the U.S. Open fan experience is getting a facelift, part of this major investment is also being funneled toward athlete facilities. Those upgrades will come in the form of a $250 million player performance center, located on the top two floors of an existing building to the west of the Arthur Ashe stadium. Inside, players and teams will be treated to indoor and outdoor fitness areas, 'spa-like' locker rooms and lounges, and even a cafe accessible only to athletes. The press release notes that this added investment is intended to provide the nearly 2,800 athletes and team members at the U.S. Open with 'everything they need to maximize their on-court performance.' 'There's no doubt about it—when you walk into the stadium, the entire look and feel will change,' says Zausner.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
$800 million overhaul of US Open stadium will add space and luxury
NEW YORK -- The U.S. Open tennis tournament, already one of the most glamorous sporting events in the world, will become even fancier after an $800 million renovation that will be the largest single investment in the site's history. Tennis fans will see some of the transformations in Arthur Ashe Stadium, in Flushing, Queens, where the tournament is held, while other parts will be off limits to them -- unless they grow up to be tennis stars. The project includes an overhaul of Ashe Stadium, the centerpiece of American tennis, which will add shine and much-needed walking space to a concrete and steel building that can feel cramped and sweaty on the busiest match days. The other part is an opulent new building for the players that will feature state-of-the art training facilities, luxury accommodations and cafes. Construction, which has already begun, is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2027 U.S. Open. The U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the tournament, said work would not interfere with the tournament over the next two years. 'We are doubling down on the continued growth that we are seeing in tennis in this country,' said Danny Zausner, the association's chief operating officer, who helped unveil the renovation at a news conference Monday. The USTA, a nonprofit organization whose mandate is to develop tennis in the United States, said that it would pay for the entire project through reserve funds and debt and that the project would not require any more land in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. New York City owns the 46 acres in the park that houses the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The city leases it to the USTA -- just as it leases the land that the New York Yankees and New York Mets stadiums sit on to the teams' owners. The USTA has already spent more than $1 billion on construction around the grounds over the past decade, adding three new stadiums and refurbishing all the outer courts and practice areas. But Ashe is a big moneymaker with a tournament that generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It is the world's largest tennis stadium with a capacity of almost 24,000. That figure will remain roughly the same. What will change is the feel and look as walkways and seating areas get expanded and refitted, adding 40% additional space within the stadium, according to Zausner. The most visible changes will be in the crowded concourse levels. Those will be fitted with high-end shops, restaurants and clubs and gleaming, expanded walkways, providing more space to areas that can get jammed with fans at times. Since 2017, attendance at the U.S. Open has grown year over year (excluding the 2020 pandemic year, when no fans were allowed) and last year it topped 1 million for the first time. Despite its immense size and once-modern sheen, Arthur Ashe Stadium is from a different era. It opened in 1997 and is the second-oldest major sports venue in the metropolitan New York area, after Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. Ashe Stadium is also the final of the two dozen courts at the National Tennis Center to be remodeled. The last work done there was the retractable roof that debuted in 2016. The architect for the project is Rossetti, the same firm that originally designed Ashe, along with most of the other recent upgrades on the grounds. The plan will shift the existing luxury suites higher and add 2,000 new seats to the lower bowl of the stadium, increasing that number to 5,000. It will also include seven new bunker suites, the luxury spectator lounges dug out below court level that have provided large revenue streams at other arenas, like Madison Square Garden. The glass-and-brick players building, which will cost a projected $250 million, will sit on an existing parking lot and tower over the five practice courts. It will include a two-story garage plus indoor and outdoor training facilities and opulent lounges. Stacey Allaster, the tournament director, said Monday that the center will help ensure that players are fit and able to perform at a high level for hundreds of thousands of spectators after a long season of competition. 'Happy players, happy fans,' Allaster said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
$800 Million Overhaul of U.S. Open Stadium Will Add Space and Luxury
The United States Open tennis tournament, already one of the most glamorous sporting events in the world, will become even fancier after an $800 million renovation that will be the largest single investment in the site's history. Tennis fans will see some of the transformations in Arthur Ashe Stadium, in Flushing, Queens, where the tournament in held, while other parts will be off limits to them — unless they grow up to be tennis stars. The project includes an overhaul of Ashe Stadium, the centerpiece of American tennis, which will add shine and much-needed walking space to a concrete and steel building that can feel cramped and sweaty on the busiest match days. The other part is an opulent new building for the players that will feature state-of-the art training facilities, luxury accommodations and cafes. Construction, which has already begun, is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2027 U.S. Open. The United States Tennis Association, which runs the tournament, said work would not interfere with the tournament over the next two years. 'We are doubling down on the continued growth that we are seeing in tennis in this country,' said Danny Zausner, the association's chief operating officer, who helped unveil the renovation at a news conference on Monday. The U.S.T.A., a nonprofit organization whose mandate is to develop tennis in the United States, said it would pay for the entire project through reserve funds and debt and that the project would not require any more land in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. New York City owns the 46 acres in the park that houses the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The city leases it to the U.S.T.A. — just as it leases the land that the Yankees and Mets stadiums sit on to the teams' owners. The U.S.T.A. has already spent over $1 billion on construction around the grounds over the past decade, adding three new stadiums and refurbishing all the outer courts and practice areas. But Ashe is big moneymaker with a tournament that generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It is the world's largest tennis stadium with a capacity of almost 24,000. That figure will remain roughly the same. What will change is the feel and look as walkways and seating areas get expanded and refitted, adding 40 percent additional space within the stadium, according to Mr. Zausner. The most visible changes will be in the crowded concourse levels. Those will be fitted with high-end shops, restaurants and clubs and gleaming, expanded walkways, providing more space to areas that can get jammed with fans at times. Since 2017, attendance at the U.S. Open has grown year over year (excluding the 2020 pandemic year, when no fans were allowed) and last year it topped one million for the first time. Despite its immense size and once-modern sheen, Arthur Ashe Stadium is from a different era. It opened in 1997 and is the second-oldest major sports venue in the metropolitan New York area, after Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. Ashe Stadium is also the final of the two dozen courts at the National Tennis Center to be remodeled. The last work done there was the retractable roof that debuted in 2016. The architect for the project is Rossetti, the same firm that originally designed Ashe, along with most of the other recent upgrades on the grounds. The plan will shift the existing luxury suites higher and add 2,000 new seats to the lower bowl of the stadium, increasing that number to 5,000. It will also include seven new bunker suites, the luxury spectator lounges dug out below court level that have provided large revenue streams at other arenas, like Madison Square Garden. The glass-and-brick players building, which will cost a projected $250 million, will sit on an existing parking lot, and tower over the five practice courts. It will include a two-story garage plus indoor and outdoor training facilities and opulent lounges. Stacey Allaster, the tournament director, said on Monday that the center will help ensure that players are fit and able to perform at a high level for hundreds of thousands of spectators after a long season of competition. 'Happy players, happy fans,' Ms. Allaster said.
