Louis Armstrong Stadium

Contrary to the maxim (s) «size does matter»… «bigger is better»… «it’s the size of the fight in the dog»… Louis Armstrong Stadium’s diminutive size relative to the (fact) biggest stadium in the world (Arthur Ashe) actually adds to it’s charm.
It’s pretty much the middle child of Flushing Meadows’ Tennis stadiums, with big brother Arthur Ashe and baby brother Grandstand. Awesome part is that grounds-​pass-​esque treatment is applicable in this stadium. No need to check your ticket numbers here folks. Basically, the blue collar peeps can intermingle in the stands with the blue blooded folk; seating is indiscriminate here (as opposed to the front row seats going to the trust fund babies a la Arthur Ashe).
Sure, you probably won’t see those Williams sisters, or Sharapova, or Nadal, or Djokovic, or Federer, or Murray at this stadium… (I know my tennis b*tches), but you may see Halep, or Kirilienko, or Hantuchova, or Nishikori, or Cornet, or Wozniaki here… (again, I know muh tennis).
So get in on the week one action and take a chance on Louis Armstrong for what are effectively the «undercard» matches for tennis. Awesome views and probably more competitive tennis is to be had here, so skip everyone’s favorite Arthur Ashe and give it a try.

Louis Armstrong stadium originally called Singer Bowl first opened during New York World’s Fair in 1964. It was later divided to two stadiums Louis Armstrong Stadium and the adjacent Grandstand Stadium to host US Open.
No 7 train is the easiest way to get to the US Open. Only small bags are allowed and there’s a separate queue for people carrying bags. Check out US Open website for the list of restricted items. What you absolutely must carry is some sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, umbrellas/​ponchos — it gets pretty hot and humid and almost always rains.
We got ground admission passes from Ticketmaster for around 75 $. Grounds Admission is only available the first eight days of the tournament, with access to matches held in the field courts, Grandstand, and portions of the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Except for the reserved court side seats on Louis Armstrong, with the GA pass you can grab a seat anywhere.
The stadium seats 10 000 and provides the chance to closely view the players, even without binoculars. The seats are pretty cramped and uncomfortable. The current stadium is scheduled to be replaced by a new 15,000-seat stadium by the 2018 US Open. The new stadium is planned to have a retractable roof which is much needed since rain disrupts the matches almost every year. On the day we went, rain disrupted the play for around 3 – 4 hours, but we lucked out because the Men’s Single match between Roger Federer and Tommy Robredo got moved to Louis Armstrong stadium. With people leaving their seats due to the rain, we were able to grab good seats really close to the court and enjoy the action.
The restrooms are located at the top of the stadium, I was expecting them to be nasty due to the crowd and the rains but it was clean. There are a lot of food vendors at the venue, as expected the food was expensive. There’s a lot of activities going on at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, you can wander around the different booths, grab food and drinks at the various stalls, people watch near the south plaza fountains, buy some memorabilia. If you want to exit the whole area you need to get your hand stamped and show both the stamp and your tickets while re-​entering.
Even if you’re not a serious tennis fan, watching US Open is a fun if somewhat expensive way to enjoy the day! It’s a completely different experience to watch live matches. I am pretty sure I cannot sit through any sports game on TV. But I had a great time watching live tennis at the stadium.