The 2014 US Open just kicked off — yesterday was the first day of matches for the main draw — and I went down to Drexel to check things out. Thanks to a lucky turn of events, I managed to score a media pass to the event this year (thanks Jim, Jay and Dent!) and took a bunch of photos and videos of the setup there, for anyone who’s interested in how it’s put together.
First of all when you get off the train at 30th street, one of the first things you see is this billboard:
Then as you walk down the street to the venue there are banners featuring Nicol David, Greg Gaultier and more I think.
Coming into the Daskalakis Athletic Center, there are some matches taking place on the Drexel squash team’s courts:
Later in the week, all matches are played on the show court.
Show Court Entrance
The main court is housed in a basketball arena. Right as you come in the entrance, you can see the Squash TV commentators doing their broadcast (left) and the court (right).
Since the Squash TV guys are right at the front, people are constantly walking past — it must be tough to keep your concentration in that spot.
Here’s what their setup looks like from behind — it’s basically a camera, two lights, a monitor, and some audio equipment.
Here’s another view from the entrance area:
The stands are to the left as you look at the court from the entrance. All around the arena, there are big video screens like you see in this picture, displaying the live Squash TV feed:
Club Area
On the sides of the court are a bunch of tables where you can sit with a drink and some food. You need a “Club Level” or better ticket to get in there. There’s a bar serving alcohol inside the velvety rope.
In prior years these side areas had bleachers for overflow spectators, but they were sparsely used and blocked the view a little. The way they did it this year with tables looks so much nicer.
Inside the Club area, you can get up close to the action:
Here’s a pan shot from up close — more tables on the right, stands on the left:
The Club area forms a U shape around the side walls and front walls. There are tons of interesting viewing angles:
This is one of the player boxes where they recover between games and talk to their coaches. There’s one on the opposite side of the court for the other player.
The Stands
Here are some views from the stands. This is a pan shot from the top right corner, by the entrance:
And here’s a regular picture from the same spot with the court in view. This is the absolute farthest seat away from the courts, and the view is still good:
This is the top left corner of the stands. This is the farthest seat from the action — this time on the other end of the stands — and it’s still a great place to watch the match. I caught the end of the 5-game thriller between Waller and Golan here:
Here’s a pan shot from the top left corner:
You can see over the left wall in that pan shot is a closed-off backstage area. This is where the players warm up and enter from. One nice thing about this seat is you can peer over and see the players warming up:
President’s Suite
There’s another seating area called the “President’s Suite”, dead center atop the main stands. I’m not even sure how you get tickets for this area — I think you might need to be a tournament sponsor.
Here’s what the action looks like from the President’s Suite:
It’s pretty sweet in the suite:
You can even grab some ditties, and there’s a bar too (not pictured):
Backstage
In this picture, the opening on the right is where the players make their entrance for their match.
Straight ahead is where the emcee Gilly Lane sits in between announcements and introductions.
To the left, there are some makeshift rooms cordoned off by those portable black walls you can see in the picture.
Somewhere in there, media teams for the US Open Squash Website, SquashSite, Squash Magazine and more are creating content for their various publications.
If you walk forward a bit you’ll see the Squash TV production crew broadcasting live around the globe on PSA Squash TV:
There are also a couple bikes for players to warm up and cool down on:
Winding down after the match .. @ljmassaro and @Sarahkippax pic.twitter.com/53ouPvlEGj
— U.S. Open Squash (@USOpenSquash) October 14, 2014
Not to mention a private spot for players to get a massage:
And if you REALLY dig deep into the place, go down a tunnel, through a drainpipe, and behind a secret hidden door, what do you find? All of Squash TV’s crap:
THE END
kyle says
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great work Pierre ! love the passion !
Ricardo says
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Good report! Thanks
Sesh says
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Hi Pierre.
Great job, and very informative. Hope you can keep adding stuff as the tournament peaks–it adds to the atmosphere.
Sesh