Record Attendance Expected at Highest Annually Attended Sports Event in the World
This Year’s US Open Provides Finale to First Ever US Open Series
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 5, 2004 – The USTA announced that individual session tickets for the 2004 US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, went on sale Monday, June 7, at 9 a.m. ET.
The 2004 US Open will be held Monday, August 30 through Sunday, September 12. Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day presented by Hess, a full-day tennis and music festival for children and families, will take place Saturday, August 28. Tickets for the 2004 US Open and Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day can be purchased four ways:
• at usopen.org
• by calling Ticketmaster at 1-866-OPEN-TIX
• at all Ticketmaster outlets
• at the USTA National Tennis Center box office
This year’s US Open will begin the day immediately following the 2004 Summer Olympics, and will welcome over 600,000 fans and more than 250 of the world’s top tennis athletes representing approximately 60 countries. In an ongoing effort to improve fan amenities, the US Open will introduce a number of new enhancements, including the US Open Court of Champions attraction, expanded in-stadium and grounds video programming, a special Opening Night ceremony, Finals Weekend festivals, and live entertainment throughout the grounds.
The 2004 US Open will be the culmination of the first US Open Series, the 10-tournament North American summer hard-court season. For the first time ever, the top three finishers of the US Open Series will be competing for bonus prize money at the US Open. The men’s and women’s winners of the US Open Series will be playing for one and one-half times the prize money they would otherwise receive at the US Open. The second-place finishers will be playing for 25% more than they would otherwise receive and third place finishers will be playing for 10% more. Details of the US Open Series bonus system will be announced shortly.
From Monday, August 30 through the quarterfinals on Thursday, September 9, day sessions will begin at 11 a.m. and night sessions sill begin at 7 p.m. Finals Weekend will feature the women’s semifinals Friday, September 10; the men’s semifinals Saturday, September 11; the Women’s Singles Final in Primetime at 8 p.m on Saturday, September 11; and the men’s singles final at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 12.
The USTA National Tennis Center box office hours are Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The box office will be closed Sundays and July 3-5. Payment can be made by credit card - - American Express is the Official Card of the US Open. US Open individual ticket prices range from $22 - $94, while prices for Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day presented by Hess range from $10 to $20. For ticket plan availability, group sales, disabled seating and other US Open ticket information, call the USTA ticket office at 718-760-6200.
The US Open is the highest annually attended sporting event in the world with more than 620,000 fans. Over 77 million viewers watched the 2003 US Open in the United States on CBS Sports and USA Network and international broadcasts reached 165 countries. In 2003, Andy Roddick won his first US Open men’s singles title with a win over Juan Carlos Ferrero in the men’s singles final and Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed her first US Open singles title, defeating Kim Clijsters in a prime-time women’s final.
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S and owns and operates the U.S. Open. In addition, it owns the 96 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. A not-for-profit organization with more than 675,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the professional levels.