RP:It is really shortsighted on their part that they built that huge stadium without a roof. Hindsight is 20/20 but I remember during construction they gave media and ticket holders guided tours and that was pretty much the first question everyone asked: where's the roof? To which they said (then) that since it rarely rains during the two weeks of the Open they felt they did not need it. But what a waste when you see over the weekend, for instance, Arthur Ashe stadium hosted the WNBA NY Liberty. If they had a roof they could have hosted more events like that, concerts (memo to the USTA: just don't play any 70s or 80s music or risk the wrath of Vinko!), conventions, etc. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a stadium that is way too big for tennis (you sit upstairs you can hear the rumbling of the 7 train more clearly than the bounce of the ball) that essentially goes unused for 48 weeks a year. The Key Biscayne stadium that hosts the Sony ERicsson Open is a much more intimate setting and they add the bleacher seats upstairs for the tournament. But as everyone here says: it's almost pointless to go into Arthur Ashe Stadium the first week of the Open and it has almost zero atmosphere because die-hard fans are all on the outer courts so your'e stuck with a half-full cavernous monstrosityand on TV it looks like no one cares about the Open when the reality is the outer courts are packed for week one. But let's face it: it's all about the corporate luxury boxes - that's where they're making the money. The annual rent from those luxury boxes, the concession (each has a bar, food, staffed by employees, etc.). You're right: it is silly that no one there had the foresight to build a smaller stadium with a roof. It's funny because when I meet people who are attending the Open for the first time they all want to go into Ashe Stadium and then they actually sit there for a match and just as quickly wanna get out of there and go to the Grandstand or other outer courts where they can actually see a match. Other sports are learning bigger is not necessarily better. The Mets' new stadium which is nearly finished across the street from Ashe will be nearly 10,000 seats smaller than the current Shea Stadium. First time I ever sat in Centre Court at Wimbledon could not believe how much more intimate it was in person than it appears on TV. Unfortunately, Ashe Stadium is the opposite.
All of which points out how poorly the USTA runs not only the US Open, but the sport as a whole.
And not just the professional part of tennis in the U.S. Anyone who has tried to get information from them on leagues, etc. know they are extraordinarily unhelpful. Last year, I wanted to go to the linesperson training being held in NH just before the Pilot Pen tournament to see if I would like it. I contacted them TWO months in advance. I emailed them twice to see what was up. Guess when they contacted me with all the details? The NIGHT BEFORE the training. lol! Would have been okay, but they required an all white outfit - I don't have all white anything for tennis apparel.
They are killing the sport in the U.S. The only way the sport will survive is if they get better people running not only the USTA, but ATP and ITF.
Which reminds me - no one is talking about the Hamburg trial that started yesterday. That should be interesting.