Pro tennis ponies up $10M for Queens park to win expansion

The tennis courts at Flushing Meadows
The tennis courts at Flushing Meadows

The United States Tennis Association has pledged a little more than $10 million for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, where the group wants to expand and update its aging complex that hosts the U.S. Open, Capital New York reported.

USTA is giving the money ahead of a City Council vote on its National Tennis Center project. Under its giving plan, the pro tennis group will provide $5 million for capital projects next year; $350,000 annually for three years for maintenance and programming; and then $200,000 annually for the next 20 years. The USTA already pays $500,000 a year in rent to the city’s general fund.

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The new commitment will create a public-private partnership to help maintain the park, akin to the Central Park Conservancy.

“The deliverables are something that my community really much appreciates,” Council member Julissa Ferreras told Capital New York. [Capital New York]Hiten Samtani