The Borough's Most Famous Arena

Louis Armstrong Stadium has long been a symbol of the US Open’s connection with Queens. With a new roof and modern amenities, Louis 2.0 also exemplifies the tournament’s future

- Tim Newcomb

In a fitting finale to the multi-year overhaul of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the first major stadium used at the US Open will be the final piece of its transformation puzzle. Louis Armstrong Stadium—originally built in 1964 for the World’s Fair and, 54 years later, built anew—not only serves as a symbol of change, but is a modern take on a classic, intimate tennis venue.

“It is going to have the feel of the old Armstrong, with fans really seated on top of play,” says Matt Rossetti of Rossetti Architects, designers of the National Tennis Center’s rebuild.

“This is the last leg of this transformation, with the big goals being more open space, fan amenities, shade and an improved experience,” adds Danny Zausner, COO of the National Tennis Center. “We were able to check all of those boxes.”

With 85 percent of US Open fans entering on the east side of the grounds, Zausner wanted something architecturally significant to greet them. He also needed something to cap the $600-million renovation project that redid 85 percent of the campus. It comes in the form of the brand-new Armstrong, a 14,061-seat stadium with the center’s second retractable roof—one completely different than the cover recently put over Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Designed in an octagon shape with shortened ends and expanded sides, Armstrong’s seating surrounds a court positioned for a natural north-to-south breeze. Above it is a two-piece retractable, lightweight, PTFE fabric roof, with material sliding atop itself to open larger than the court surface. Two 284,000-pound panels travel on a 27inch wheel along a steel track, opening in under seven minutes and creating a 38,160-square-foot opening—larger than 18 courts—in what Rossetti calls a “complex stackable sun room.”