A Glow-up For Ashe
A Glow-up For Ashe
The US Open is getting an $800 million upgrade.
The US Open is getting an $800 million upgrade.
TIM NEWCOMBMay 19, 2025
The US Open is getting an $800 million upgrade.
The US Open is getting an $800 million upgrade.
Arthur Ashe Stadium is getting $550 million upgrade for 2027
Arthur Ashe Stadium is getting $550 million upgrade for 2027
TIM NEWCOMBMay 19, 2025
Jannik Sinner during the 2024 US Open Final. // Getty
Jannik Sinner during the 2024 US Open Final. // Getty
The USTA has announced an $800 million upgrade to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, that includes a $550 million refresh for Arthur Ashe Stadium—already the biggest tennis-only stadium in the world—and a new $250 million player performance center next door, connected by a sky bridge.
Work will be completed by the 2027 US Open, said Danny Zausner, COO of the National Tennis Center, who made the announcement Monday.
With structural work already underway, the plan will bring more fans closer to the action on the US Open’s main show court by expanding the courtside bowl from 3,000 to 5,000 seats. To accomplish this, the “luxury” suites will be moved farther up the bowl. The upper concourse serving the loge and promenade levels will also increase in size by 40 percent, while the seating capacity at the highest points will necessarily decrease by 2,800 seats. Zausner says this will create more space for fans to experience completely revamped food-and-beverage points of sale, as well as much-needed new restrooms. There are also plans for a new overlook bar at the top level with views of Corona Park. Plans also call for a new “grand entrance” to the stadium designed by the Rossetti firm and architect Daniel Libeskind.
Zausner told the media that with fewer people upstairs and more fans courtside, the interior bowl will retain its rousing atmosphere, but that the concourses will feature a fresh look and more space. “It is an all-new rebuild. Everything will be a completely new look and feel,” Zausner said. The suites will also get their own dedicated concourses, and plans include two new banks of elevators and two new escalators.
Ashe was originally a temporary structure built for the World’s Fair in 1964. The US Open relocated to Flushing from Forest Hills, Queens, in 1978, and Ashe was first refurbished in 1997. The thinking at the time was that fans would head to the grounds for food, beverage, and retail needs. That hasn’t proved the case, so the USTA is hoping to increase fan comfort in the crowded venue by expanding and adding to the concourses.
A rendering of the refreshed Ashe stadium and new players' center. // USTA
A rendering of the refreshed Ashe stadium and new players' center. // USTA
With the structural components of Ashe considered sound, the USTA wanted to focus on renovations that wouldn’t disrupt access to the site for any of the upcoming US Open events. Any sort of full rebuild of the site would leave the US Open without a viable main stadium for multiple years while costing hundreds of millions of dollars more than the current plan. The upgrades come as the other three Grand Slams have made significant infrastructural improvements in recent years, while the US Open’s main show court has felt a bit stale of late. The renovation is being funded privately.
Players and their entourages will have access to a new, two-level player performance center. Constructed in what is now Parking Lot A, the first two levels will be for parking, with levels 3 and 4 dedicated to the players, including expanded indoor and outdoor fitness and warm-up spaces, redesigned and expanded locker rooms, lounges, a player courtyard, and dedicated café and dining spaces.
As player needs have changed, the USTA says it has struggled to keep up, especially with fitness needs, as players are often seen warming up in the parking lot to get accustomed to the outdoor temperature. The expanded player space is also intended to accommodate the growing number of guests that players now bring to the tournament—nearly 3,000 people each year. As Stacey Allaster, chief executive of the tournament, likes to say, “Happy players, happy fans.”
Arthur Ashe Stadium as it was in 1978. // Getty
Arthur Ashe Stadium as it was in 1978. // Getty
