Friday, August 5, 2011

New chapter for Forest Hills Tennis Center

From the Wall Street Journal:

Less than a year after members of the West Side Tennis Club in Queens voted down a proposal to transform its historic tennis stadium into condos, the club wants to be served with other ideas.

The Forest Hills club, home to the U.S. Open championships for decades, issued a request for proposals Monday, asking developers what they’d do with the crumbling stadium site and how they’d pay for it, according to a source close to the situation. All ideas will be considered, the source said.

Submissions are due in early October, when the West Side’s stadium committee will review the ideas. Viable options could be presented to members for a vote by early next year, the source said.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

32 Years and still counting...

Anonymous said...

Huh? The damn thing is way older than 32 years. It reminds me of the "Aquacade" from the 39 worlds fair in Flushing Meadow. An archaic venue that sat and sat until it was removed. Tear it down, and install more courts on the property.

Anonymous said...

Your comparison of the FHTC to the Aquacade is both ignorant and insulting.

The Aquacade WAS NOT crumbling.

Claire Shulman refused to accept a developer's plans to restore and and reopen the Aquacade.

It could have been NYC's answer to the extremely successful Jones Beach Marine Theater venue.

But, alas, it did not fit into "granny" Shulman's plans.

Perhaps the developer didn't fill the old cow's pockets with enough bribe money.

While that bovine bitch still lives....our borough isn't safe from devastation of its worthy potential landmarks.

Anonymous said...

Maybe that Rego-Forest "preservation" group can plant a few trees around it to hide the crumbling concrete....LOL!

What a depressing looking structure.

Anonymous said...

Send the USTA back there, out of Flushing Meadows Park.

Anonymous said...

It's been 32 years since the US Open left Forest Hills.
No alternative use for the stadium was ever planned.
WSTA knew of it's demise in 1975 when it was decided that Flushing would be the new home of the Open.
So they actually let 35 years go by the wayside. A damn shame!

Anonymous said...

The stadium hasn't been in demise until relatively recently. Pro tennis had a round of 64 tournament every May since the Open left there up until about 15 some odd years ago. There have been concerts there since at least the last decade. Seems to me the men's and women's tennis tour should go back there for US Open warm-up tournaments.

Anonymous said...

Last one was held 27 years ago.