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 Geplaatst: 22-07-2019 02:44:58 Onderwerp: ound. As good as he i |
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NEW YORK -- U.S. Open rain delays at Arthur Ashe Stadium will be no more by 2017. The Grand Slam tournaments centre court could be covered by a retractable roof as soon as the 2016 tournament, but more likely the following year, U.S. Tennis Association officials said Thursday. As the mens final was delayed to Monday each of the last five years, they had insisted a roof wasnt yet feasible financially or structurally. A decade after the USTA started studying the issue and three years after architectural firm Rossetti began researching the project, the price tag and the technology are finally workable. The construction will cost about $100 million, down from earlier projections of $200 million. The U.S. Open becomes the last of the four major tournaments to cover up. The main stadiums at Wimbledon and the Australian Open already have roofs, and the French Open is planning one. Flushing Meadows No. 2 stadium, Louis Armstrong, will eventually be covered, too. Someday the Grandstand, the third-largest court, may be, as well. The Ashe roof will be part of a broader, previously announced project to rebuild and expand other courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The total price tag is estimated at $550 million. The USTA must still receive final approvals from the city for the plans. The organization had commissioned three different studies over the years that determined a roof wasnt feasible. The last time the USTA made a request for proposals, in 2009, it did not select Rossetti, the original architect for Ashe. The firm "took it rather personally," said Danny Zausner, the tennis centres chief operating officer. "Behind the scenes, they worked on the project for free for a year to try to come up with a concept that no one else thought of," he said. When Rossetti presented its findings to USTA officials in 2010, they were intrigued. Still, the firm was a long way from solving the riddle of topping Ashe. As USTA executive director Gordon Smith put it: "It wasnt built for a roof, and the land conditions around it on the site are abysmal." "We had to find out how to support 5,000 tons of steel on soil that is mush," said Matt Rossetti, the firms head. Using lighter materials atop the stadium was considered, but that proved unworkable. The USTA was willing to remove some seats, though not the entire upper bowl. Technology innovations over the years helped in making what was once impossible possible, Rossetti said - in particular, computer modeling. But he estimated that 80 per cent of the shift simply came from the painstaking, time-consuming process of delving into different options. A big breakthrough occurred just six months ago, when the firm surmised that the roof could be supported by only eight columns. At one point, the prediction was 32 -- and there wasnt space for that at the tennis centre. It was only two months ago that Rossetti determined the eight columns would actually work. Meanwhile, the rain kept falling at the Open. This years mens final is slated for Monday from the start to spread out the tournament more and reduce the odds that Mother Nature wreaks havoc with the schedule. The streak of bad weather didnt speed up the goal of a roof, Zausner said, though it certainly reminded USTA officials why they wanted one. As recently as last years tournament, they were still left explaining why they couldnt do it. "I dont think it was as much pessimistic as frustrated," he said. Players vented about starting and stopping matches and quick turnarounds as officials tried to squeeze competition in after delays. They didnt want to hear about poor soil and prohibitive costs. "I can appreciate from their perspective: This isnt my problem. Fix it," Zausner said. The USTA lost TV revenue money. The fans, though, were still coming. "Even though were selling record tickets, is it building frustration from our fans and our broadcast partners? Theres no question," Zausner said. "But if we could have had this design five years ago and knew what we know today five years ago, Im sure we wouldve had a roof five years ago." The roof, made of a lightweight fabric, will take 5-7 minutes to close, though delays will last longer for drying the court. Zausner said the USTA couldnt learn much from Wimbledon and the Australian Open other than the best time for closing the roof, because the stadiums are so different. The Grandstand will move to the opposite corner of the complex, with capacity increased from 6,000 to 8,000 fans. Armstrong, which currently seats 10,000, will be replaced with a larger version that can hold 15,000. The construction will allow for more and improved concessions than the two 50-year-old stadiums currently support. New tournament and practice courts with additional seating also will be built so more fans can see the players in action; they could be complete as soon as next years Open. As of now, only a few dozen spectators can squeeze in a view of the practice courts through a fence. Walkways will be widened and esplanades created in an attempt to reduce the bottlenecks that frequently pile up between the main entrance and Ashe. The tennis centres capacity for each day session will increase from 40,000 to 50,000 people. The new Grandstand is scheduled to open by the 2015 Open and Armstrong by 18. Fans will see some of the work in progress; temporary bleachers likely will be used around the new Armstrong court at the midpoint of the two-year project. The USTA will fund the project through bonds and increased revenue; officials said ticket prices would not be raised to pay for it. A gap between the roof and stands will let in fresh air, and the stadium will be climate controlled. The challenge is to keep conditions similar for the players with the roof open and closed. "I dont particularly like going from indoors to outdoors to indoors. Its also tough," defending champion Andy Murray said Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati. "But its good for TV. Its good for fans that are watching. For the players that are scheduled on that court, its great." Bouchon Hydro Flask .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday. Bouteille Hydro Flask Pas Cher . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. The injury was caused in the second minute of Tuesdays 4-1 league win over Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou when teammate Sergio Busquets accidentally struck Mascherano just above the knee with an outstretched boot. http://www.hydroflaskbouteille.fr/ . It was a loss. But it was also a learning experience. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson had 24 points each to lift Brooklyn to a 94-87 win over the Raptors, making their first playoff appearance since 08. "I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. Bouteille dEau Hydro Flask . Kamloops, B.C., the host city of this years Tim Hortons Brier, is where he won his first Canadian mens curling crown in 1996. Bouteille Hydro Flask France . There will be no Down Under four-peat for Djokovic, as the eighth-seeded Swiss slugger Wawrinka outlasted the second seed 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 at Melbourne Parks Rod Laver Arena in yet another five-set thriller in their burgeoning rivalry.IRVING, Texas -- Canadian Mike Weir waited five years to close out a tournament near the top of the leaderboard. The Brights Grove, Ont., native shot a 3-under 67 in the fourth round of the Byron Nelson Championship Sunday to finish in second place, two strokes back of American Brendon Todd. It was Weirs best tournament since he finished second behind Dustin Johnson at Pebble Beach in 2009. The 44-year-old Canadian left-hander hadnt had a top-25 finish since 2010, the same year he suffered a partial ligament tear in his right elbow before a stretch when he missed 17 cuts in a row -- including all 14 tournaments he started in 2012. "Best golf I played in a long time. I was happy with the way I played," Weir said. "I was definitely determined to try to win today, but I can feel good about the way I handled things out there." Weir had birdies on four of the first five holes. He was 13 under and ahead of Todd by two strokes when his tee shot at No. 5 settled 1 1/2 feet from the cup. That came after Weir blindly hit out of a fairway bunker to 3 feet at No. 4. But Weir missed the fairway and green for a bogey at the 431-yard sixth hole. At the same time Todd, who played the last 31 holes at TPC Four Seasons without a bogey, was tapping in at the fifth. Todd was shocked when he saw his ball settled at the base of a tree by the 13th green in the final round. As good as he is with his short game, it wasnt natural for the slender 6-foot-3 Todd to set up left-handed and hit the ball with the back side of a 4-iron. "Definitely, without a doubt," Todd said when asked if it was his most unique shot in a competitive round. And it came in his first PGA Tour victory. Todd saved par at the 185-yard 13th hole after knocking the ball to 7 feet, part of a bogey-free 4-under 66. He finished at 14-under 266. It was the 77th career PGA Tour event for Todd, who twice in the past five years had to go back to back to the Web.com Tour to regain full playing privileges. He earned $1,242,000, a PGA Tour exemption through the 2015-16 season and a spot next year in the Masters. "Im excited about the relief like I finally have a chance to play the PGA Tour for multiple years," Todd said. "No. 1, going to Augusta for the Masters is a dream come true." Todd, who took the lead for good with birdies at Nos. 9 and 10, is the fifth formmer University of Georgia player to win on the PGA Tour this season.dddddddddddd He joined Masters champion Bubba Watson, Harris English, Russell Henley and Chris Kirk. Todd also is the eighth first-time winner this season. Weir, the 2003 Masters champion who won the last of his eight PGA Tour titles in 2007, finished 12 under. Charles Howell III and Marc Leishman tied for third at 10 under. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., finished in a tie for seventh place at 8 under. After Todd hit his tee shot at the 195-yard second into a greenside bunker, his shot from the sand landed on the green and rolled in for a birdie. When he knocked in a 14-foot birdie putt at the 181-yard fifth, he tied Weir -- who made a bogey on No. 6 -- for the lead at 12 under. Howell shot a 67 with a three-putt bogey on the final hole, while Leishman had three bogeys in a five-hole stretch on the back nine for a 68. Todd rolled in a 17-foot par-saver at No. 17, keeping a two-stroke lead over Weir going to the final hole. He needed only 99 putts in the four rounds. "It was a dream week for me on the golf course," Todd said. "Felt like I absolutely scored my pants off. It was just a short game display. I have a great short game, and even Ill say it was special this week." Boo Weekley (6 was 9 under to tie for fifth with James Hahn (70). Weekley is the defending champion at Colonial, about 30 miles away and the next tournament. Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open in the final group with Todd, had already slipped four strokes back at the turn before bogeys at Nos. 10-11. The 2010 British Open champion shot 74, 10 strokes worse than Saturday, to tie for 11th at 6 under. Martin Kaymer won The Players Championship last weekend and opened at the Nelson with consecutive 67s. But he shot 71 Saturday before a bogey-birdie-bogey start Sunday on way to a 72 and tied for 29th at 3 under. That was a stroke better than Jimmy Walker, who will remain No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings. Jordan Spieth, the 20-year-old Dallas native ranked eighth in the world, had a closing 68 to finish 2-under and tied for 37th at the tournament where he made the cut as an amateur at ages 16 and 17. He finished two strokes behind 17-year-old Scott Scheffler, the top junior golfer from Dallas who played on a sponsor exemption. ' ' ' |
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