The US Open: A Perfect Match for Closing Out the Summer

With ideal 75-degree weather and great tennis to watch, a recent Sunday spent at the US Open with my family in early September was a very special moment for the end of summer that doesn’t get much better.

The Open is largest single sporting event in the country, as it takes 2 weeks to run the tournament, which brings in walloping half a billon dollars in revenue for NYC.  While being in the PR world I have the opportunity to attend openings of hotels and luxury lifestyle clients, the US Open is on a scale that is hard to get your head around.  But let me try to give you a sense of the enormous scale of this event:

As the owner of a hotel public relations PR firm, the largest event our agency ever produced was the grand opening of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino, where we helped oversee the 1,000 credentialed press in attendance for a week’s stay. It was a huge event (as you can imagine, Donald Trump doesn’t do anything small scale). But compared to 30,000 credentialed workers (from press to chefs) required to managed the US Open, you start to get a sense of just how big the tournament is.

To make our time at the US Open this year even more memorable, a behind the scenes tour by a friend at the US Open revealed the inner workings of the USTA Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY. We saw the gigantic press room, with international press from all the parts of the world that the players reign from,; the players’ lounge where we caught a glimpse of some of the top seeds; the security headquarters — a mammoth responsibility that the US Open carries out flawlessly; and an outdoor seating area for the players and their coaches to relax in between games and practice.

For me it’s an annual event with my family, and something I look forward to and cherish every year.  It’s also a fleeting window in time when you can enjoy the best players in the world up close and personal.

Much luxe,
Lorraine Abelow
President and Founder, Abelow Public Relations
www.abelowpr.com