New Security Methods At US Open Are Not Warmly Received By Ticketholders

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 28th August 2013

New Security Methods At US Open Are Not Warmly Received By Ticketholders

epa03839775 Novak Djokovic of Serbia (L) hits a drop shot against Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania (R) during their match on the second day of the 2013 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 27 August 2013. The US Open runs through Monday 09 September, a 15-day schedule for the first time EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

With entry into this edition of the US Open starting to resemble a badly-run airport security setup, deep-pocketed tennis fans are fuming about two-hour waits to enter the grounds now that metal detectors have become a part of the process.

The Open brings a huge economic impact to the New York area, generating around three-quarters of a billion dollars in economic activity. That’s more than the American gridiron football Super Bowl, worth just 430 million according to marketing statistics.

A typical fortnight of tennis will draw 700,000 fans – but those numbers were achieved before the intrusive metal detector scheme was launched for this edition.,

With local hysteria still high after the Boston marathon bombing, the Open has gone to what many feel are over-the-top extremes which risk truly alienating the paying punter. While television revenues of course from the bulk of income for the American federation, the fans cannot be overlooked.

And the paying customer appears fed up with the entire, inconvenient scenario. Local media reported that Monday’s opening-day queues stretched for hundreds of meters from the local subway stop to a main at Flushing Meadows, with bans even extended to women’s purses. Many angry patrons were quoted in New York tabloids as saying they will not be making future visits to the boldest, loudest and most in-your face of the four majors.

The event has cracked down on what can be brought into the grounds, through its self-named “airport-type security,” with the metal detectors and wands.

Topics: 10sballs, Sports, Tennis, US Open