10. The stadiums are awful. USTA spent $270 million on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was obsolete before it was built, it's in the middle of one of the worst slums in New York City, the sight lines are awful, it leaks like a sieve, and it is directly under the flight path for not one but two of the busiest airports in the world (La Guardia and JFK). Louis Armstrong stadium and The Grandstand were built in the 1950s, and they weren't even built as tennis stadiums (the Armstrong/Grandstand complex was originally called The Singer Bowl and was built as a concert venue for the World's Fair), so the crowd flows are downright dangerous, the whole complex is an armpit, and the place is falling apart.
There is no roof - retractable or otherwise - on Arthur Ashe stadium, which forces the entire event into chaos when the weather is bad.
In contrast, the Australian Open facility in Melbourne Park is the best tennis facility in the world, it has TWO stadiums with convertible roofs (Rod Laver Arena & Vodafone Arena), a top-notch corporate hospitality / convention center, and the entire facility was built for less than $80 million. Working at the Australian Open, which I have done every January since 1992, is a treat. Working at the US Open, which I have done every August since 1988, is torture.
5 comments:
Clearly, you haven't done the Rogers Cup in Toronto ... maybe a good thing.
Wow already the negativity.
Have you even been in NY for 24 hours yet.
At this rate this list might hit the "Top 100 Reasons"
I'll make sure I stay away from the Skunk for a few days.
- Cockroach
Actually, I *HAVE* done both Canadian Open (Toronto) and Canadian Open (Montreal) many times. In my younger days, I had to schelpp my ass to all nine of the "Super Nine" (now known as "Masters Series") every year, as well as 10 or so other tournaments such as "The Masters" (which was then in Hamburg), New Haven (which was then an ATP mens tournament), etc.
Trust me, no event - tennis or otherwise - beats the US Hopeless for suckiness.
Oh, I don't know...
Let me think on it a bit and I'll bet I can come up with an event that might match up with the Hopeless...
TBG
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