West Side Tennis Club officials hope to fill the thousands of seats in the historic Forest Hills Tennis Stadium with a new concert series that begins this August.
A place steeped in history where the first African-American won a major tennis championship and at which the likes of the Beatles and Bob Dylan once entertained seas of screaming fans, the iconic Forest Hills Tennis Stadium has become dilapidated in recent years, its 15,000 empty seats reminders of an era when rock ‘n roll reigned supreme and names like Billie Jean King and Jimmy Connors rolled off the tongues of tennis lovers.
But, this summer, officials from the West Side Tennis Club, which owns the 90-year-old stadium, are hoping to revive that time when the world’s biggest musical stars and most renowned athletes flocked to Forest Hills.
Representatives from the West Side Tennis Club, a 100-year-old venue located next to the stadium, said this week that they signed an agreement with a promoter to hold 19 concerts over the next three years – beginning with the Grammy award-winning Mumford and Sons.
“I know a lot of people here in Queens are annoyed about how much Brooklyn has been getting, and we want to bring some culture back to Queens,” said Bob Ingersole, the tennis director and facilities manager at the West Side Tennis Club. “We want to get our stadium fixed up. The concert series is a stepping stone to holding tennis events again.”
The stadium had hosted the U.S. Open Tennis Championships from 1915 to 1977, when the USTA moved the event to the larger Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Davis Cup was also held at the club 10 times – and Ingersole said he would love to see that event return to the site on which some of music’s biggest names have played, including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and The Who. Tennis great Althea Gibson – often referred to as the female Jackie Robinson – broke barriers at the stadium when she became the first black player at a Grand Slam event.
“Once we see the promoters are able to handle the infrastructure – parking, traffic, security, police, and sanitation, then my first step is to apply for the Davis Cup,” Ingersole said.
The stadium stopped holding concerts at the venue in the 1980s because of complaints from residents about noise and parking problems, and Ingersole said they want to work hard with neighbors to ensure the same issues do not play out again. For example, he said concerts would end around 10 p.m. in order to ensure loud music would not emanate from the stadium in the late night hours.
Renovation work at the stadium began this week in preparation for the Aug. 28 concert, Ingersole said.
“We’re pulling out the seats in the stadium, we’ll be power washing the stadium and we’re putting on a sealant,” he said.
West Side Tennis Club officials have long debated what they should do with the stadium, and several years ago they entertained a proposal from the Forest Hills-based development group Cord Meyer to transform the 2.5-acre site into luxury apartments. Club members ultimately voted down the proposal, of which area legislators, including Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) said they were skeptical.
Legislators and club members had also pushed to have the stadium landmarked, but the city Landmarks Preservation Commission ruled in 2011 that the site was too run down to be considered for landmark status.
But with the new renovation work and the emerging concert series, Ingersole said the stadium will once again become a vital part of Queens.
“I hope everyone gives us a chance and comes to the new cultural center of New York,” he said.
By Anna Gustafson
