The 14,069-seater arena was opened by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) on August 22 2018.
The new stadium is the final piece of a US $600m five-year strategic transformation; featuring innovative design, which encourages air flow through the building while keeping the rain off the court – making it the world’s first naturally ventilated tennis stadium with a retractable roof.
Rossetti designed Louis Armstrong Stadium with an operable roof as well as a naturally ventilated bowl, which enables play to continue during rain.
On each side of the stadium, the façades are covered with 14,250 overlapping terracotta louvres; allowing airflow through the upper part of the building on the north and south elevations while protecting the court from the rain and shading spectators from the sun.
The Louis Armstrong stadium will host its first official match when the main draw of the 2018 US Open begins on August 27 2018. It will also host a dedicated night session for the first week of the tournament, giving the US Open two stadia with night matches for the first time in tournament history.
McEnroe concluded: “Alright, this is awesome. I know the players are going to be super excited. As a New Yorker and as a Queens boy, I couldn’t be prouder of this stadium.”
