West Side Tennis Club
Former names | Forest Hills Tennis Stadium |
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Location | One Tennis Place Forest Hills,Queens,NY,U.S.11375 |
Coordinates | 40°43′11″N73°50′55″W/ 40.7196°N 73.8487°W |
Website | |
www |
TheWest Side Tennis Clubis a privatetennisclub located inForest Hills,a neighborhood in theNew York CityboroughofQueens.The club has 38 tennis courts in all four surfaces (clay court,Har-Tru,grass courtandhardcourt), a juniorOlympic-size swimming pooland other amenities. It is the home of theForest Hills Stadium(originallyForest Hills Tennis Stadium), a 14,000 seat outdoor tennis stadium and concert venue.[1]
The club hosted 60 editions of the U.S. National Championships (renamed theUS OpenTennis Championships in 1968), first from 1915 to 1920, and then again from 1924 to 1977. In addition, the finals of theDavis Cupwere held at the club ten times, more than any other venue. TheUS Protournament was held at the venue eleven times, and another prominent professional tournament, theTournament of Champions,was held at the venue three times. The West Side Tennis Club was the venue of theForest Hills Tennis Classic,a now-defunctWTA TourTier IV event, and a men's challenger event. The Open saw some of its biggest moments and changes while at West Side, including the introduction of seedings in 1927,tiebreakersin 1970, equal prize money for men and women in 1973, and night play in 1975.[citation needed]Currently, the stadium is used as an outdoor concert venue.
History
[edit]The club was founded in 1892 when 13 original members rented land onCentral Park Westfor three clay courts and a small clubhouse. Ten years later, the land had become too valuable, and the club moved to a site near Columbia University with room for eight courts. In 1908, the club moved again to a property at 238th Street and Broadway. The new site covered two city blocks and had 12 grass courts and 15 clay courts.
The club hosted the International Lawn Tennis Challenge (now known as theDavis Cup) in1911.With crowds in the thousands, the club leadership realized that it would need to expand to a more permanent location. In 1912, a site inForest Hills, Queens,was purchased. The signatureTudor-styleclubhouse was built the next year.
In 1915, the United States Lawn Tennis Association National Championship, later renamed theU.S. Open,moved to West Side. By 1923, the success of the event necessitated the construction of a 14,000-seat horseshoe-shaped stadium that still stands today. The stadium's first event was the final of theInternational Lawn Tennis Challenge,which saw the U.S. defeat Australia.
Beginning in 1971, the stadium was home to the annualRobert F. KennedyMemorial Tennis Tournament which was a celebrity pro-am for charity featuring the likes ofChevy Chase,Arnold Schwarzenegger,Carlos Santana,Edward M. Kennedy,Elton Johnand more throughout the decade.[2]
In 1975, the tournament was switched toHar-Truclay courts. By 1978, the tournament had outgrown West Side, and theUSTAmoved the tournament to the newUSTA National Tennis CenterinFlushing Meadowsunder USTA PresidentWilliam Hester's leadership.[3]In 2008, the stadium was the site of a women's satellite tournament.[4]
TheNew York EmpireofWorld TeamTennisannounced it would play its home matches, coached byPatrick McEnroe,at the stadium beginning with its inaugural2016 season.[5]The team relocated to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for its second season in 2017.[6]
Forest Hills Stadium
[edit]In addition to hosting the main court for tennis championships, the Forest Hills Stadium has been used as a concert venue featuring major artists ranging fromthe Beatles,the Rolling Stones,Bob Dylan,Frank Sinatra,the Supremes,Judy Garland,Jimi Hendrix,the Who,Donna Summer,Brand New,AJR,Arctic Monkeys,andChance the Rapper.[7]From 1961 to 1971, the stadium was also the location for the Forest Hills Music Festival.[8]
Following the 1978 departure of the Open the stadium fell into such disrepair that by 2011 it was called a "crumbling ruin" and was denied landmark status by theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.[4]The West Side Tennis Club received an offer in 2010 to raze the stadium and replace it with condominiums.[9]
However, in mid-2013, the stadium re-opened as an outdoor concert venue withMumford & Sonsperforming the inaugural concert on August 28.[10]Since then the Forest Hills Stadium has held a regular summer concert series featuringSantana,Zac Brown Band,D'Angelo,Van Morrison,Arctic Monkeys,and others.[1]It is also the summer home ofThe New York Pops.[11]
From 2013 to 2017, an extensive renovation to revitalize the venue included several significant upgrades. Starting with patching up concrete exterior walls, old seats were removed and replaced by initially 1,200 new seats in 2014. A permanent stage was installed, designed by Mark Fisher, renowned for his sets forPink Floyd,U2and the Rolling Stones. A new concourse redesign expanded it to twice its original size for attendees to relax on a grassy court as well as easier access to food and beverage concessions. In addition to reserved seating in the club and bowl were improved seating options for people with disabilities. And after 70 years the central tennis courts were replaced with a standing room general admission floor to accommodate many thousands more people. Unique VIP party lounges were created from unused spaces discovered beneath the stadium after removal of decades-worth of rubble and debris.[12]Plans announced in 2018 to turn the stadium into a year-round venue as a winter village with an ice skating rink have yet to be realized as of 2022.[13]
The stadium also has a history of use as a filming location. TheAlfred HitchcockfilmStrangers on a Train(1951) was filmed in part during the1950 Davis Cupfinals at the West Side Tennis Club on August 25–27, 1950. Several scenes inWes Anderson'sThe Royal Tenenbaumswere filmed in and around the stadium, including the "Windswept Fields" meltdown of Richie Tenenbaum.[14]
Community backlash
[edit]Following backlash from residents living nearby the stadium, a curfew of 10:00 p.m. was implemented for all shows.[15]In 2014, shortly after the stadium's re-opening, concerts byBrand NewandModest Mouse,Zac Brown BandandLil Waynesaw decibel levels above the city's noise code, leading to warnings being issued. A month after meeting with theEnvironmental Protection Departmentto discuss strategies for mitigating noise,The Replacementsperformed over the decibel limit three times during their finale, and the stadium was fined $3,200.[16]In 2015, the stadium spent $500,000 on noise suppression methods including a concrete fence and stairway covers.[17]
An October 2022 concert featuringYeah Yeah YeahsandJapanese Breakfastresulted in 62 noise complaints, the highest number recorded for the stadium.[18]In May 2023, the stadium was sued by the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation for violating the neighborhood's residential zoning regulations. In response, West Side Tennis Club and its booker countersued and a judge provided an injunction allowing for Burns Street to remain open for the over 30 concerts that were scheduled at the stadium that summer.[19]The stadium was sued three times in total for noise complaints in 2023.[20]
References
[edit]- ^ab"History - Forest Hills Stadium".Forest Hills Stadium.
- ^"Ethel's Tennis Tournament Is a Labor of Love - Vol. 2 No. 9".
- ^Steinberger, Michael (August 23, 2012)."Queens Was Burning, Too: The Chaotic Spectacle of the 1977 U.S. Open".The New York Times Magazine.pp. MM34.RetrievedSeptember 5,2012.
- ^abChura, Nate (August 29, 2011)."Ruin in the Forest: A Stadium Once Fit For the US Open Falls Into Disrepair".WNYC.RetrievedJanuary 28,2013.
- ^"Mylan World TeamTennis 2016 Season Includes Return to New York City, Expanded Broadcast Coverage".World TeamTennis.February 17, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon June 6, 2017.RetrievedJune 4,2016.
- ^Schwartz, Peter (March 7, 2017)."Schwartz: New York Empire Ready For Improved Second Season In World Team Tennis".CBS New York.
- ^"About Forest Hills Stadium".Forest Hills Stadium.New York.RetrievedApril 22,2016.
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, and Simon & Garfunkel all graced the stage at Forest Hills during its heyday in the 1960s and 70s.
- ^"Forest Hills Music Festival 1967".Festivival.RetrievedMay 4,2022.
- ^Wotapka, Dawn (August 11, 2010)."U.S. Open Stadium May Go Condo".The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedNovember 20,2022.
- ^"Past Shows".Forest Hills Stadium.RetrievedApril 13,2020.
- ^"The New York Pops Announces New Summer Home at Forest Hills Stadium | the New York Pops".Archived fromthe originalon March 20, 2016.RetrievedApril 12,2016.
- ^Scileppi, Tammy (June 15, 2017)."Head for the hills: Forest Hills Stadium completes four-year renovation to revitalize historic venue".QNS.RetrievedMay 4,2022.
- ^Law, Tara (April 16, 2018)."Major Changes Planned at Forest Hills Stadium".Forest Hills Post.RetrievedMay 4,2022.
- ^"the year 2015: windswept fields".
- ^Antos, Jason D. (October 1, 2014)."As Concerts Return To Stadium, So Do Noise Complaints - Queens Gazette".Queens Gazette -.RetrievedDecember 14,2023.
- ^Baker, Al (September 24, 2014)."As Concerts Return to Forest Hills Stadium, So Do Complaints".The New York Times.
- ^"Neighbors want Forest Hills Stadium to turn down the volume at concerts".October 24, 2023.
- ^"These Forest Hills Stadium concerts made residents most angry".November 6, 2023.
- ^"Forest Hills Stadium owners sued as neighbors complain about noise - CBS New York".www.cbsnews.com.May 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 14,2023.
- ^"Residents sue Forest Hills Stadium over concert series noise complaints".New York Daily News.December 13, 2023.RetrievedDecember 14,2023.
External links
[edit]- Forest Hills, Queens
- Music venues in Queens, New York
- Sports venues in Queens, New York
- Tennis venues in New York City
- US Open (tennis)
- Wightman Cup
- 1923 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
- 1947 Davis Cup
- 1948 Davis Cup
- 1949 Davis Cup
- 1950 Davis Cup
- 1955 Davis Cup
- 1959 Davis Cup
- Tennis clubs in the United States