Topic: Should the U.S. Open get a retractable roof?

[Start da Game]

either you have a roof or protect the courts with covers........it's stupidity to not have either of those two things........AO probably has a better drainage line on the court........plus the higher temperatures on an average dry up the courts pretty fast.......that's not the case with uso......

[sid]

With Louis Armstrong Stadium surface cracking up,work needs to be done @ USO after this USO.Melbourne Park will have 3 Roofs for 2015,time For the USO 2 Drop supper Saturday & get some Roofs on the bigger courts.Once the Stadiums in the USA use to be the best in the world,whats happened???????????????4 years now the USO has run over it's time,is not time the USA pulled that finger out from there ass lol.Maybe another part of the world could show em how to run a Slam.Hmmmmmmmmmmm

[Babblelot]

Shank, the courts don't air dry, so the difference in courts drying between AO and USO is negligible. This is how they dry courts at the Open. Vacuum then blow dry with heat, but you already knew that (cough cough).






Having said that, Shank, I, like you, still want to know why tournaments don't cover hardcourts when it rains. 



Sorry to burst your bubble sid, (bad pun intended) but as for the court bubbles, I had never heard of this until the 2011 AO, when the court bubbled. Made me  at the time. Cliff just said they saw this at New Haven, too. Has to do with heavy rain followed by hot temps.

Dead Spot on Hisense Arena

Didn't know that, but, apparently, it's one of the downsides to laid surfaces.


Bottom line: rain sucks for everyone, but it sucks more for Nadal and Murray fans because it rained on their half of the draw.

[sid]

Shank, the courts don't air dry, so the difference in courts drying between AO and USO is negligible. This is how they dry courts at the Open. Vacuum then blow dry with heat, but you already knew that (cough cough).






Having said that, Shank, like you I still want to know why tournaments don't cover hardcourts when it rains. 



Sorry to burst your bubble sid, (bad pun intended) but as for the court bubbles, I had never heard of this until the 2011 AO, when the court bubbled. Made me  at the time. Cliff just said they saw this at New Haven, too. Has to do with heavy rain followed by hot temps.

Dead Spot on Hisense Arena

Didn't know that, but, apparently, it's one of the downsides to laid surfaces.


Bottom line: rain sucks for everyone, but it sucks more for Nadal and Murray fans because it rained on their half of the draw.

It's now not about Murray & Nadal,4 years on the trot the USO has fcuked up Bab.Get Roof or give the Slam 2 some where else to run.Bad surfaces have stopped Roddick match,so don't you think something needs to be done?

[Babblelot]

^^^ moron

[sid]

games
tosser

[Babblelot]

games
tosser

 

I forgot momentarily   

[sid]

games
tosser

 

I forgot momentarily   

Are you sure you forgot

[Start da Game]

Shank, the courts don't air dry, so the difference in courts drying between AO and USO is negligible. This is how they dry courts at the Open. Vacuum then blow dry with heat, but you already knew that (cough cough).

stop the stupidity.......of course they use driers........i just meant higher temperatures in melbourne make it easy........any retention of moisture, the sun takes care of that.......why they just don't cover the who damn thing but take all the pain to dry them is beyond me....... 
 

[Mertov]

They don't use covers because usually by the time the court is being covered there is already some moisture on the court. Once covered, the moisture is trapped, coupled with the humidity, it damages the paint on the court and causes discoloring.  In some cases also, the paint forms bubbles.  This is only valid for hard courts, on clay or grass the court can absorb the moisture.

The only way to avoid that would be to cover the court before even a few drops of rain land on the court which would be impossible to predict or time.  But even then, some moisture gets on the court.  I am rather surprised that knowing that, they have not come up with a solution to it yet (such as changing the material of the painting on the court so that does not happen, or finding some covering that lets enough air in to avoid the potential damage etc.)

Mertov

[Babblelot]

^^^ Alas, we have a winner!!!!! That was some real inside baseball stuff.

Now Shank can suck his thumb until the next autrocity against Rafa, and that's just hours away!

[Sonja1989]

Of course but I feel it won't happen. Anyway, would be interesting to see the final on Sunday. 

[conchita]

Everything but the roof

peter bodo. tennis.com



The USTA unrolled a massive, $500 million, seven-year renovation and expansion plan for its Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. What, $500 million and no roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium?
"We simply do not have a roof design that works at this point," USTA CEO Gordon Smith admitted. "We have been working on that, and will continue to work on it with engineers and architects."
Building a new, roofed stadium comparable to Ashe would cost, according to some estimates, close to a billion dollars. Retro-fitting a roof to Ashe, aside from the engineering problems it presents, would fall more within the $125 to $250 million dollar range.
According to Smith, an investment of that size in a roof that may not even be used during a semi or a final for years would leave the organization without the resources to complete many of the improvements unveiled today—see the image at the top of this post. Those include replacing Louis Armstrong Stadium and the connected Grandstand (a favorite of many in-the-know fans) with a brand new Louie in the northeast corner of the grounds, and a new Grandstand on land that is currently part of the USTA's lease but unused. (Unlike Ashe, the Armstrong/Grandstand complex is nearly 50 years old and at the end of its useful life.) The USTA also resisted putting a roof on the new Louis Armstrong Stadium because it would have to hold at least the same capacity as Ashe to make it feasible to send patrons from one stadium to the other if rain came.

This, and some of the other changes, will also have a comfort dividend, as improving traffic flow and relieving congested areas has been a target of the improved site since the get-go. Other enhancements include widening some of the walkways (which involves moving some of the southern-most courts), a few new buildings, and at least one very welcome and innovative feature: A covered, elevated walkway and seating area extending out from Ashe, from which fans will be able to watch players practice.
 
Those of you who have attended tennis events in person know how staking out the practice courts has become a wildly popular fan pastime, even though the practice courts are usually located in the least crowd- and traffic-friendly areas of a venue. "Fans will be able to sit and watch their favorite players practice," Smith said, "and we're even going to post the practice schedules."

Some of these arguments will not placate die-hard roof fans (or USTA critics). I've said that it's imperative in this day and age for the tournament to finish on time, there's just no excuse to run over because of rain. But I also think the USTA got blind-sided by this sudden rush to roof, and think the outfit is choosing the wiser if less popular road. Tennis is still, after all, an outdoor sport, or one best enjoyed as a spectacle outside.
 
It's also heartening to know that the new Louis Amrstrong Stadium will be built to accommodate a retractable roof (the way Court No. 1 at Wimbledon was), for the day when Ashe has outlived its usefulness. Until then, all we can do is pray for sunshine.

[Babblelot]

WOW!!!

I hope they get the outer courts right and build the bridges!!! and replace the benches with seats!!!