Venue News & Notes: USTA ‘Strongly Considers’ Roof on Ashe

Following the controversial, rain-delayed end of this year’s US Open tennis tournament, the event’s owner, the U.S. Tennis Association, says it will strongly consider building a roof to avoid in the future the ratings downfall that has hit the tournament. The move marks a shift for the USTA in its position on adding a covering to Arthur Ashe Stadium, the central facility at the Open’s home, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. It also comes as the USTA is entering contract-renewal talks with CBS Sports, which sources said has become unhappy not just with the rain delays but also with declining ratings and the lack of Americans at the top of the sport…

…Many Pittsburgh Penguins fans endured a ferocious storm on their way to Consol Energy Center, but, when the skies cleared, they found themselves in Emerald City at the house the Wizard of Cros built. The Penguins’ new home is by all accounts a gem, and fans found themselves close to being mesmerized on entering Consol Energy Center for the first time Wednesday before Sidney Crosby and the Penguins faced the Detroit Red Wings. “It’s pretty overwhelming at first,” said Stephanie Smith, a Robinson, PA, resident and season-ticket holder. “Everything about it is so big, so pretty, and so impressive”…

…A move is under way to bring a $40 million baseball stadium to West Chester, PA, which organizers hope will house a Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies, however, downplayed their connection with the project yesterday, saying there are no imminent plans to move one of their affiliates. A Phillies spokesman confirmed that club President David Montgomery met with a contingent representing the stadium project on Aug. 19 but said a published report “overstates what was discussed”…

…It didn’t take long for Giants and Jets fans to feel at home in a facility they claim equally as their own. It’s the first NFL stadium designed to adapt to the look and feel of two teams in one market, a $1.7 billion chameleon dressed in steel and concrete. For the Giants, a franchise whose rich history dates back 85 years, New Meadowlands Stadium presents a tremendous upgrade over the cramped old venue that carried their name for 34 seasons. The Jets, AFL upstart and redheaded stepchild at Giants Stadium since 1984, are on equal footing after failing to get their own facility built on the west side of Manhattan. After 50 years, they finally have a building where they can apply the Gang Green brand inside and out on game days…

…Some Phoenix-area cities and local business interests are trying to pump new life into the idea of special tax zones that earmark financing for sports complexes and other projects. Those groups talking about reviving tax-increment financing still are trying to decide whether their proposal should help fund professional sports and retail venues or be geared more toward high-wage jobs and industries needed to boost Arizona’s job market…

…One hour after the New York Giants won their regular-season opener on a rainy Sunday at New Meadowlands Stadium, a building employee struggled with a diagram for fastening a Jets-branded field wall wrap. Cameron Smith, creative director and a principal at Infinite Scale, the firm hired by stadium officials to develop the changeover system at the NFL’s only two-team stadium, was walking by and offered assistance. Smith, who designed the wall wraps, helped the worker sort through key codes for correctly installing the Jets banners…

…It wasn’t even close: for at least two more decades, Gillette, the Boston shaving giant, will get to keep its name on the stadium that is home to the New England Patriots. Yesterday, officials at Gillette, a unit of consumer-goods conglomerate Procter & Gamble Co., said they have extended that agreement for exclusive naming rights through 2031 with the Kraft Group, which owns the 68,756-seat stadium, the Patriots, and the New England Revolution. The Patriots field in Foxborough, MA, has been called Gillette Stadium since 2002 under an agreement that was to expire in 2017.

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