Guide to the US Open at the US National Tennis Center
Sep 13, 2010, 11:25 am
#16
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LIRR's special schedule for UST Finals today only, training making stops at Mets-Willets Point Station once every hour, off-peak OW fare $4.50 and peak fare $6.50
Subway/bus fare is $2.25 and the 7 subway are running both local & express every 3 to 5 minutes, all stopping at USTO stop @ Willets Point Station.
#7 Subway is probably faster & quicker unless you are close to Penn Station or coming in from the "island"
P.S. Just receive text alert that U.S. military aircraft has scheduled a USTO flyover at the Stadium around 4 p.m. this afternoon. Nothing new
, seemed like a regular routine these days in NYC's confined airspace 
- could be NORAD's F-16's or chopters from nearby Fort Totten (hear them buzzing late night sometimes doing training as well as daytime formation drills near LGA.
Subway/bus fare is $2.25 and the 7 subway are running both local & express every 3 to 5 minutes, all stopping at USTO stop @ Willets Point Station.
#7 Subway is probably faster & quicker unless you are close to Penn Station or coming in from the "island"
P.S. Just receive text alert that U.S. military aircraft has scheduled a USTO flyover at the Stadium around 4 p.m. this afternoon. Nothing new
, seemed like a regular routine these days in NYC's confined airspace - could be NORAD's F-16's or chopters from nearby Fort Totten (hear them buzzing late night sometimes doing training as well as daytime formation drills near LGA.
Sep 15, 2010, 3:08 pm
#17
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b) Lower Promenade - These seats are accessed from the same level of the stadium as the Upper Promenade, but are below it. Each section is three seats across and two rows deep. Access is monitored vigilantly by ushers at the top of the section. However, those ushers go off duty at approximately 10:45pm, and people from the Upper Promenade may move down into this section, sometimes with an official invitation from the announcer. Accessible seating is available at the top of this level.
c) Loge - These box seats are associated with suites just behind the seating area and are typically used by corporate parties. They are accessed from the lower level of the stadium, and access to this level is monitored vigilantly by ushers located on the escalators. The CBS/ESPN/Tennis Channel broadcast booth is on this level on the south side of the stadium, and the broadcasters, including the likes of John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova, can be seen through the open window at the front of the booth.
c) Loge - These box seats are associated with suites just behind the seating area and are typically used by corporate parties. They are accessed from the lower level of the stadium, and access to this level is monitored vigilantly by ushers located on the escalators. The CBS/ESPN/Tennis Channel broadcast booth is on this level on the south side of the stadium, and the broadcasters, including the likes of John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova, can be seen through the open window at the front of the booth.
Sep 15, 2010, 7:10 pm
#18
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Sep 15, 2010, 9:58 pm
#19
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Random comments:
(Regular) 7 Express service is for rush hour, so it runs to Manhattan M-F mornings, which is of no use for going to the Open, and it runs to Queens M-F evenings, which is only of use if you are going out for the night session.
The exits for the 7 train coming in are more towards the middle of the train in my opinion.
And we have done the E/7 switch before. If doing the switch at 74 St, you may very well end up having to stand the rest of the way on the next train. Personally, I would not do the switch for the local vs express stops in Queens. I would only do it if the E or F train is more convenient to my Manhattan address.
We tend to have courtside Armstrong seats. They never really open it. You can try to sneak down, but the ushers will come through to check tickets or you will have ticket holders showing up and kicking you out.
The important thing about bringing a bag in is to make sure it is the right dimensions and not a backpack. There are two of us and we each bring one bag. I have the bag that is insulated and carry the water bottles, sandwiches, and anything else that we are keeping cold (e.g. cheese). My boyfriend has the bag with all the food stuff that isn't cold (crackers, granola bars) and other things like cameras and such. We then bring some collapsible bags too (plug for Chico Bags here) and then sometimes use that to separate stuff during the day. While you can only have one bag to get in, you can carry around multiple inside.
For midday breaks (either rain or just to do something different for a bit), we will run over to the Queens Museum of Art or ride the subway one stop to Flushing-Main St and wander around the Flushing Mall and the neighborhood in general, since it is all interesting and close.
BillJ
(Regular) 7 Express service is for rush hour, so it runs to Manhattan M-F mornings, which is of no use for going to the Open, and it runs to Queens M-F evenings, which is only of use if you are going out for the night session.
The exits for the 7 train coming in are more towards the middle of the train in my opinion.
And we have done the E/7 switch before. If doing the switch at 74 St, you may very well end up having to stand the rest of the way on the next train. Personally, I would not do the switch for the local vs express stops in Queens. I would only do it if the E or F train is more convenient to my Manhattan address.
We tend to have courtside Armstrong seats. They never really open it. You can try to sneak down, but the ushers will come through to check tickets or you will have ticket holders showing up and kicking you out.
The important thing about bringing a bag in is to make sure it is the right dimensions and not a backpack. There are two of us and we each bring one bag. I have the bag that is insulated and carry the water bottles, sandwiches, and anything else that we are keeping cold (e.g. cheese). My boyfriend has the bag with all the food stuff that isn't cold (crackers, granola bars) and other things like cameras and such. We then bring some collapsible bags too (plug for Chico Bags here) and then sometimes use that to separate stuff during the day. While you can only have one bag to get in, you can carry around multiple inside.
For midday breaks (either rain or just to do something different for a bit), we will run over to the Queens Museum of Art or ride the subway one stop to Flushing-Main St and wander around the Flushing Mall and the neighborhood in general, since it is all interesting and close.
BillJ
Sep 15, 2010, 10:41 pm
#20
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(Regular) 7 Express service is for rush hour, so it runs to Manhattan M-F mornings, which is of no use for going to the Open, and it runs to Queens M-F evenings, which is only of use if you are going out for the night session.
The exits for the 7 train coming in are more towards the middle of the train in my opinion.
And we have done the E/7 switch before. If doing the switch at 74 St, you may very well end up having to stand the rest of the way on the next train. Personally, I would not do the switch for the local vs express stops in Queens. I would only do it if the E or F train is more convenient to my Manhattan address.
The exits for the 7 train coming in are more towards the middle of the train in my opinion.
And we have done the E/7 switch before. If doing the switch at 74 St, you may very well end up having to stand the rest of the way on the next train. Personally, I would not do the switch for the local vs express stops in Queens. I would only do it if the E or F train is more convenient to my Manhattan address.
The exit is about a third of the way back from the very front of the train IIRC.
You're right about not doing the E/F transfer just to miss the local stops, it's really the travel time difference that does it for us (vs. 6 to 7), but not such a big deal to stand for 10 min at the end.
Sep 16, 2010, 10:01 am
#21
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And we have done the E/7 switch before. If doing the switch at 74 St, you may very well end up having to stand the rest of the way on the next train. Personally, I would not do the switch for the local vs express stops in Queens. I would only do it if the E or F train is more convenient to my Manhattan address.
Aug 31, 2011, 4:25 pm
#23
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I forgot about this gem you wrote.
Well, I seem to have said that I would check the bathroom stall situation.
No stalls were closed that I encountered. Much improved. 
There is a new sunken court, a new Court 17, which is on the same grounds as last year's old courts 17 and 18. With this court, now there are no game courts that existed pre-Arthur Ashe Stadium. It is the fourth show court and thus has the equipment for players to challenge line calls.
This year, it seems that plastic bottles of water AND soda/iced tea are allowed. Well, I brought it in a plastic bottle of Snapple and wasn't stopped.
Security is stopping people on the boardwalk in a pre-emptive measure if they are carrying any form of a backpack. Saves time instead of being told at the gate.
AMEX isn't doing the rickshaw bikes this year. It's Starwood Preferred Guest. So if you don't feel like walking the boardwalk from the subway, take your SPG card. Remember to tip the cyclist. It's the nice thing to do.
Well, I seem to have said that I would check the bathroom stall situation.
No stalls were closed that I encountered. Much improved. There is a new sunken court, a new Court 17, which is on the same grounds as last year's old courts 17 and 18. With this court, now there are no game courts that existed pre-Arthur Ashe Stadium. It is the fourth show court and thus has the equipment for players to challenge line calls.
This year, it seems that plastic bottles of water AND soda/iced tea are allowed. Well, I brought it in a plastic bottle of Snapple and wasn't stopped.
Security is stopping people on the boardwalk in a pre-emptive measure if they are carrying any form of a backpack. Saves time instead of being told at the gate.
AMEX isn't doing the rickshaw bikes this year. It's Starwood Preferred Guest. So if you don't feel like walking the boardwalk from the subway, take your SPG card. Remember to tip the cyclist. It's the nice thing to do.
Sep 1, 2011, 1:14 pm
#24
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There is a new sunken court, a new Court 17, which is on the same grounds as last year's old courts 17 and 18. With this court, now there are no game courts that existed pre-Arthur Ashe Stadium. It is the fourth show court and thus has the equipment for players to challenge line calls.
Will have to check out Court 17 this weekend!
Sep 2, 2011, 12:22 pm
#25
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I found this Tennis article on the new Court 17 and also added it to the OP.
http://www.tennis.com/articles/templ...13945&zoneid=9
http://www.tennis.com/articles/templ...13945&zoneid=9
Sep 2, 2011, 7:53 pm
#26
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I found this Tennis article on the new Court 17 and also added it to the OP.
http://www.tennis.com/articles/templ...13945&zoneid=9
http://www.tennis.com/articles/templ...13945&zoneid=9
Sep 2, 2011, 9:03 pm
#27
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For those who will be taking the LIRR between Penn Station and The Open, the LIRR now permits City Ticket to be used for weekend travel to or from Mets/Willets Point station: $3.75 each way. For weekday travel, a ten-trip, off-peak ticket for $42.50 can save some money over the regular $5.00 one-way, off-peak fare. (If traveling in a group, the ten-trip ticket can be shared by everyone in the group.)
For those who will be taking the LIRR between Penn Station and The Open, the LIRR now permits City Ticket to be used for weekend travel to or from Mets/Willets Point station: $3.75 each way. For weekday travel, a ten-trip, off-peak ticket for $42.50 can save some money over the regular $5.00 one-way, off-peak fare. (If traveling in a group, the ten-trip ticket can be shared by everyone in the group.)
Sep 3, 2011, 11:29 pm
#28
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I checked the LIRR schedule in the late morning and it only runs once an hour from Penn to Willets Point. Also after 11:06 pm, the next train from Willets Point to Penn station is like 90 minutes later. 11:06 is normally going to be too early to see the end of the last night match at Arthur Ashe.
I dreaded having to take the 7 back with everyone else leaving but it was actually quite decent. They had put on a number of extra 7 express trains and the whole thing actually ran quite smoothly. Kudos to the MTA!
However, after the last evening match, the tennis folks closed all the escalators out of Arthur Ashe instead of running them downstairs. They also closed all gates leaving the area on the east side (to public transit and parking) except for one, leading to a huge jam at the final gate. These two steps seemed to make absolutely no sense at all.
I brought in both diet Coke and water in plastic bottles and that was fine. A soft drink is about $5 inside the gates. There aren't a huge number of drinking water fountains and at busier times there are significant queues for water.
I dreaded having to take the 7 back with everyone else leaving but it was actually quite decent. They had put on a number of extra 7 express trains and the whole thing actually ran quite smoothly. Kudos to the MTA!
However, after the last evening match, the tennis folks closed all the escalators out of Arthur Ashe instead of running them downstairs. They also closed all gates leaving the area on the east side (to public transit and parking) except for one, leading to a huge jam at the final gate. These two steps seemed to make absolutely no sense at all.
I brought in both diet Coke and water in plastic bottles and that was fine. A soft drink is about $5 inside the gates. There aren't a huge number of drinking water fountains and at busier times there are significant queues for water.
Sep 6, 2011, 1:18 pm
#30
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Court 17
Well, we definitely enjoyed the new Court 17, and I almost got a ball after the Leander Paes mixed doubles match last night, but the Indian-American kids in front of us swarmed me . We have enjoyed watching him ever since we saw him play mixed doubles with Martina from the first row of the Grandstand a few years back.
I've put some more notes about Court 17 in the OP - definitely go around to the far side for shorter lines. Also, one of the "gates" toward the center of the south stand is actually not chained properly - we saw a couple people try to lean on it on their way to their seats and almost go over the edge.
Amazing that the rain stayed just west of us all day yesterday! Not looking good for the next few days - will be interesting to see if they can actually finish the tournament by Sunday!
(We also got to see the record-setting Kirilenko-Stosur 17-15 tiebreak from the courtside seats in the Grandstand on Sun night - wow!!! ^)
. We have enjoyed watching him ever since we saw him play mixed doubles with Martina from the first row of the Grandstand a few years back.I've put some more notes about Court 17 in the OP - definitely go around to the far side for shorter lines. Also, one of the "gates" toward the center of the south stand is actually not chained properly - we saw a couple people try to lean on it on their way to their seats and almost go over the edge.
Amazing that the rain stayed just west of us all day yesterday! Not looking good for the next few days - will be interesting to see if they can actually finish the tournament by Sunday!
(We also got to see the record-setting Kirilenko-Stosur 17-15 tiebreak from the courtside seats in the Grandstand on Sun night - wow!!! ^)