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. Comments

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From the August issue: When the U.S. Open kicks off at the end of this month, hundreds of
thousands of fans will flock to Flushing Meadows to watch the world’s
tennis greats battle it out.
But while New York has long been home to the Grand Slam tournament,
it is not the most hospitable place for tennis aficionados: Because of
the high cost of land, tennis courts are few and far between. In
addition, several high-profile courts, such as Long Island City’s
Tennisport and the facilities above Grand Central Station, are
scheduled to close soon. Although there are still courts in private clubs and public parks,
the building boom of the past five years that resulted in the
construction of luxury amenities — from pools to waterfalls — rarely
involved the erection of tennis facilities. [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. Comments

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