The US Open Will Raise the Roof ... Literally
The US Open is right around the corner and already there is one undisputed champ: the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Home of the US Open, the famous Arthur Ashe Stadium (the largest in the tennis world) recently underwent a $550 million facelift. The main attraction? A retractable new roof! Which means no more rain delays or cancelled events.
For a cool $150 million, the 6,500-ton steel superstructure was built to open and close in a whopping seven minutes. It can fit 17 Olympic swimming pools and the bowl of the roof itself can hold 2.6 billion tennis balls.
Besides Arthur Ashe, the Grandstand Stadium has a newly expanded and enhanced southern campus. The Grandstand now sports 8,125 seats – an additional 2,000. New picnic areas, concessions and overall flow of the tennis stadium are sure to attract even more happy fans.
Check out the video above for some more fun facts on the recent renovation. The US Open begins on August 29.