US Open in New York: Mayor Dinkins at Rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium

Photo: John McEnroe, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, USTA Chairman of the Board and President Katrina Adams, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and USTA Executive Director and CEO Gordon Smith cut the ribbon to dedicate the New Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday DARREN CARROLL/USTA

Rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium unveiled for U.S. Open

By Jeff Williams, Newsday, August 22, 2018

United States Tennis Association officially unveiled the totally rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday in a ceremony that was as much an homage to the legacy of the jazz great as it was to the magnificent new arena that bears his name.

The new stadium completes the transformation of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and gives the U.S. Open its second roofed court, pretty much assuring there will never be a Monday finish again.

"It’s the final jewel of a five-year, $600 million transformation,” said Katrina Adams, President and CEO of the USTA.

Among those at the ceremony was former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, who was a huge proponent of the tennis center and the game of tennis, and whose efforts during his administration in the early 1990s helped assure the Open would stay in New York.

Musician Wynton Marsalis spoke of the cultural accomplishments and impact of Armstrong, and he led and New Orleans-style street band for a lively jazz number. He particularly praised the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation.

For the first time since Armstrong became the Open’s second arena when Arthur Ashe Stadium was opened in 1997, there will be a separately ticketed night session for about half of the 14,000 seats. Those sessions run through the first Saturday, Sept. 1. The Open begins on Monday.

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