Arthur Ashe Stadium
Arthur Ashe Stadium is a tennis stadium
located in Queens borough of New York City. The stadium opened in 1997 around
Flushing Meadows and Corona Park and it is a part of the Billie Jean King
National Tennis Center and it was designed by the Rossitti, an architecture
firm in Detroit. According to Biography.com, the stadium was named after Arthur
Robert Ashe Jr, the first and only African-American U.S Open title winner.
Arthur was born in Richmond, Virginia on July 10, 1943 and died in New York
City on February 6, 1993, four years before the stadium was opened.
The stadium has been one of the greatest
tennis since the day it opened, with the largest capacity of 23,771 seat as a
specific tennis stadium. However, the recently added retractable roof just made
the stadium very special and pulled attention to the U.S open 2016 as it is the
first time to be hosted with the retractable roof. The roof now makes it more convenience
and keeps the games on schedule instead of having delays caused by the weather
such as having rainfall or any other similar situations. And Ashley said in the
US open website, “The new $150 million retractable roof debuts at this year’s
US Open, putting an end to lengthy rain delays inside the biggest stadium in
Grand Slam tennis. And while fans look up and marvel at the giant structure
closing above them, there’s actually a whole team behind the scenes making sure
the process runs smoothly from start to finish.” Ashley Marshall,
USopen.org
The design and structural support of the
stadium’s roof. As the Chase bank is the financial sponsor of the stadium, the
architecture firm designed a roof that is very stable structurally and also a
great representor of the Chase bank logo. After trying many different designs
for the roof, The Rossitti found the Chase bank logo design for the roof is
actually the best to hold and support the retractable roof and cheaper than
some other designs; which was a great deal for both, the engineers and the
sponsors.
The roof is supported by eight steel columns
according to the site of the architecture firm, Rossitti.com
“The main support for the retractable roof features eight
steel columns that surround the stadium's perimeter. These tree branch-like
columns sit on massive concrete bases, each of which is supported by
approximately 24 piles driven 175 to 200 feet in the ground for maximum
support. The pilings are so deep, a Manhattan skyscraper could be built on
the foundation. Additionally, the structure is engineered to withstand
hurricane-strength weather. Utilizing the independent columns was the most
efficient way to minimize the impact to the existing stadium as they are able
to stand on their own to support the roof without touching the current stadium.
In addition, the isolated foundation elements allowed the project to avoid much
of the dense, underground infrastructure from not only the current campus, but
also the site’s history as the home of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs” Arthur
Ashe Roof Background, http://www.rossetti.com/arthur-ashe-roof
As a conclusion, The Arthur
Ashe Stadium is valuable sport building that keeps fans experience a great time
watching the games and also it is a place that keeps history for the sport
itself, tennis, and also the great tennis player Arthur Robert Ashe Jr.
References:
Biography.com
Rossitti.com
USopen.org
No comments:
Post a Comment