A rendering of the National Tennis Center

Updated with comment for NYC Park Advocates, 3:07 p.m., Feb. 14: Plans to expand the U.S. Tennis Association’s National Tennis Center in Kew Gardens aced it at Tuesday’s Community Board 9 meeting, according to DNAinfo. The $500 million renovation proposal for the U.S. Open home garnered support from union workers, industry insiders and tennis fans after meeting opposition at the previous evening’s community board discussion. [more]

A rendering of the National Tennis Center

The home of the U.S. Open, the National Tennis Center in Queens, is set to get a $500 million facelift, Crain’s reported. The renovation plans include the reconstruction of two stadiums and the addition of seating for the annual Grand Slam. The U.S. Tennis Association hopes to start construction in 2013 and complete all the upgrades by 2018.

Construction will help accommodate an extra 10,000 people per day during the two-week Grand Slam on top of the current average total attendance of 700,000. [more]

The United States Tennis Association is building a new, 3,000-seat stadium at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, the Post reported. The USTA, which hosts the US Open tournament at the park each summer, leases the 46.5-acre site from the city for around $1.5 million per year. It expects to open the new facility by 2012 and may be ready sooner, a spokesperson for the USTA said. The stadium, which will be the USTA’s fourth at the park, still needs approval from the city’s Design Commission before moving forward, though it has not yet released preliminary designs to the public. … [more]

An Arizona-based company called Major Event Rentalz, which allows
homeowners to rent out their homes during sporting events that attract
thousands of out-of-town spectators, has now targeted homes in
Flushing, Queens, the site of the upcoming U.S. Open. The company is
offering residents of Flushing $2,000 a day to sublet a three-bedroom
and upwards of $10,500 a day to sublet an eight-bedroom home to
spectators who will flood the neighborhood for the tennis tournament,
which starts August 31. So far, 10 residents have offered their homes
through the online service, which collects a 10 percent commission,
while others are cutting out the middleman altogether and utilizing
Craigslist to advertise two-week sublets to tournament goers. However,
not all Flushing residents are thrilled about an influx of transients
entering the neighborhood. Sandi Viviani, president of the
Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association, called the advertisements
degrading to the community and said she tears them down when she spots
them…. [more]