Louis Armstrong Stadium was a tennis stadium of the

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August a ...

and one of the venues of the U.S. Open. Armstrong was the main stadium before

Arthur Ashe Stadium Arthur Ashe Stadium is a tennis stadium at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. Part of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, it is the main stadium of the US Open tennis tournament and has a capacity of 23,771 ...

opened in 1997, after which it served as the No. 2 stadium. It was named after the noted

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, who lived nearby until his death in 1971 and was a significant figure in the Civil Rights Movement.

Original stadium

The stadium was originally built as the

Singer Bowl The Singer Bowl was the former name for a stadium in the northeastern United States, located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. It was an early example of naming rights in large venues. History The sta ...

for the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

, and hosted special events and concerts afterwards. It was renamed the Louis Armstrong Stadium in 1973 but closed the following year. In the early 1970s the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

was looking for a new place to host the US Open, for its relations with the

West Side Tennis Club The West Side Tennis Club is a private tennis club located in Forest Hills, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The club has 38 tennis courts in all four surfaces ( clay court, Har-Tru, grass court and hardcourt), a junior ...

in Forest Hills, which had hosted the tournament, were breaking down. The USTA was initially unable to find a sufficient site, but the association's incoming president, W.E. Hester saw the old Singer Bowl from the window of an airplane flying into

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

. The old, long rectangular stadium was heavily renovated and divided into two venues, becoming the square Louis Armstrong Stadium, with the remaining third becoming the attached

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

, with a seating capacity of about 6,000. In 1997, the stadium was replaced as the US Open's primary venue by the new

. Armstrong Stadium was renovated again: the top tiers of seating were removed, which reduced capacity from the peak of 18,000 to 10,200, while a brick facade was added to match that of Ashe Stadium. The stadium was demolished in October 2016. For the 2017 tournament, while construction was still ongoing on the new stadium, a temporary 8,800-seat stadium was built on the site of the demolished ticket office and East Gate entrance, on Parking Lot B, close to the boardwalk ramp to the subway and LIRR trains.

Current stadium

A new 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium opened for the 2018 US Open. This new stadium features a retractable roof and is the largest No. 2 stadium at a Grand Slam site.

References

Notes Sources *

External Galleries

Views of Louis Armstrong Stadium

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Armstrong Stadium (1978-2016) 1964 New York World's Fair 1978 establishments in New York City Demolished buildings and structures in Queens, New York Demolished sports venues in New York (state) Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Former sports venues in New York City Louis Armstrong Sports venues completed in 1978 Sports venues demolished in 2016 Sports venues in Queens, New York Tennis venues in New York City US Open (tennis) 2016 disestablishments in New York (state)

Original stadium

Current stadium

See also

References

External Galleries