August 26, 2016
Connecticut Tennis Center (Capacity: 15,000)
New Haven, CT
Johanna Larsson vs Elina Svitolina
Final Score: 4-6, 2-6
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* Connecticut Tennis Center no longer hosts this WTA Event
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This was the beginning of a two-sport Connecticut doubleheader for me as the WTA stopped in New Haven for the penultimate event leading to the US Open. Located on the coast of Connecticut along the Long Island Sound, the Elm City is the state’s second largest, with a population of 130,000 and it is the home of the third oldest university in the country, prestigious Yale. In 1991, an impressive tennis center was built on the athletic campus of Yale and it included a 15,000 seat stadium that became home to an ATP event. The women began playing here in 1998, while the couple of stints the Men had ended with a move to Winston-Salem in 2011. Currently known as the Connecticut Open, the event is designated as WTA “Premier”, which is generally in the middle of the tournament tier. For singles, it is a 30-person field and the list of past champions is impressive: Steffi Graf, Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin and Caroline Wozniacki. This year’s tournament brought only 4 of the world’s Top 15 players as post-Olympic fatigue led to withdrawals. Crowds tend to be small at the event and the stadium is certainly much bigger than it needs to be, but it is a fine place to watch tennis while enjoying some great food. The downfalls though are ridiculous ticket prices and a dead atmosphere.
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
The Connecticut Tennis Center is located in the western fringes of New Haven and most of Yale’s outdoor athletic facilities are in this complex (including the historic Yale Bowl). This area is a couple miles from downtown New Haven, which features Yale’s historic campus intertwined through the city. Along with touring campus and visiting Yale’s museums and historic buildings, downtown has a lot of character and culture. Highly-rated restaurants can easily be found, many of which are eclectic and diverse. Pizza is famous in New Haven and their old-world style apizza places are delicious. Unfortunately, downtown is much different from where the Connecticut Tennis Center sits as the immediate location is boring.
Location Ranking: 6 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Getting here from an east-west direction via I-95 or Route 15 is very easy, while for those coming from the north-south I-91, you have to travel through the city, which can be busy with both cars and pedestrians. The same grassy fields that are used for Yale Football parking are utilized here and everything is well-directed and signed. Nearby traffic generally isn’t bad, but beware of the typically clogged interstates around the region with slowdowns common. There is a shuttle going to and from downtown (running every hour Mon-Thurs, every 30 min Fri-Sat), a nice option for those looking to explore in between sessions.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Exterior
The stadium has a unique entrance in that it is right next to a ravine, so fans enter over a foot bridge into the middle of the stadium and they don’t get to see the true height and size of the structure, unless entering from the media parking below. It’s ok because there is not much appealing anyway as the outer guts features a combination of ground-level support beams, the back of the seating bowl and periodic walking railings for access to the upper deck. All of the building material is concrete and off-white. Engraved at the top near the front entrance is “Connecticut Tennis Center”.
Exterior Ranking: 3 out of 10
Concourse
Lining the walkways leading to the main stadium are plenty of swag-offering exhibitors. Shade trees improve the area and there are a couple of central spots with picnic tables and umbrellas. One of them includes a stage, where music or various entertainment performs daily. Adirondack chairs are periodically spread around and there are several games and play areas to be found. While the plaza is not very large and lacks any indoor sports or video viewing areas, the small crowds make this a pleasant area to hang out in. Next to the main picnic area are plenty of food trucks, which offer a remarkable assortment of quality food. This year’s trucks: Lobster Shack, Crepes Choupette, Tony’s Square Donuts, Naples Pizza, Valencia Luncheria (Venezuelan), Cheese Truck and Spuds Your Way. Wowzer! At the Goose Island Tavern, a wide variety of beer (domestic and craft), wine and spirits top off a terrific food/drink experience. In the actual stadium, there is a true concourse around three of the four sides. It is outdoors, with a partial overhang and both the bathrooms and space is enough for those in attendance. Access is fine and there are a couple additional points of sale, so fans can quickly grab something without heading back to the plaza. Lots of beverages are available, while the food here is confined to typical stadium offerings (except the good-sounding veggie wrap).
Concourse Ranking: 4 out of 5
Food Ranking: 8 out of 8
Interior
As a 15,000 seat stadium, the design is pretty good. When considering how excessive that capacity is, it becomes apparent that this stadium struggles in a few aspects. The lower deck features an octagon shape with wide, blue seats and a railing in front of each row, though the railing is not necessary as this is not the steepest section. Each sideline has a telescopic section, adding six rows of seats to get fans a little closer. Makeshift tents are carved out of the upper center in each section and three out of four of them are special club sections with the benefit of enclosure, food and drinks (the other tent is for media). A bleacher-style upper level is broken out into sections and the lower one (referred to as “middle tier”), follows the shape of the design below. The upper tier is sectioned off with gaps in each corner. The size of the stadium becomes a disadvantage in that only the lower bowl (“Box Ring”) is open and fans don’t get that nice, high view some enjoy (like me). Additionally, the lower bowl seats extend back far enough where they get to be a good distance from the court and you lose intimacy. The lack of a roof or overhang means that matches from late morning to mid afternoon are played in full exposure to the sun with no shade for any row.
Interior Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
In the middle of each upper end is a temporary video board that does the job, though unspectacularly. Size and quality is just ok, but the content is solid as the score and important match information is occasionally accompanied by statistics and a video replay.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
Disappointingly none. No past champions or anything like that. At the beginning of the complex is a board with the updated draw for singles and doubles.
Displays Ranking: 0 out of 6
Cost
These are some really out of whack ticket prices and I needed to double check to make sure I wasn’t looking at club seats. Day sessions are $32 – $45, while late round evening sessions and the championship match run between $61 and $71. These are the cheapest seats as sideline sections cost $80 – $125 all week! WTA events seem more expensive than the general interest and fan base likely supports and the CT Open is in the middle of comparisons as Stanford is even higher, while Charleston is lower. Parking here in New Haven varies between $10, $17 and $25, depending on proximity to the complex. Basic food items are expensive too with a Hot Dog costing $6 and a cheeseburger $8. Food Truck prices are understandably higher for the good quality. Beer ($6 – $7) and soda ($4) is ok.
Cost Ranking: 3 out of 8
Fan Support and Atmosphere
Through the first several days of the tournament, it is quite empty with just handfuls (50 to 500) in attendance. The Friday Evening Semifinal and Saturday Final bring in many more fans as attendance jumps to a couple (2, 3) thousand, though it still looks quite empty in this large stadium. The tournament’s official attendance numbers are ridiculously overstated and not worth utilizing. I was at the Semifinal during the daytime and it was a dead atmosphere. Only isolated applause followed points and there was absolutely no other noise or cheering besides the claps. The winner did get a nice hand, but a player was never encouraged during the match. I watched the other semifinal and the final on TV afterwards and the applause certainly picked up with more people, but other than a couple rally or encouragement claps before a set point, that was the extent of the cheering.
Fan Support Ranking: 2 out of 8
Atmosphere Ranking: 2 out of 14
Other Stuff
The Connecticut Tennis Center is quite a complex as the place has 23 outdoor courts and 8 indoor ones. There are also several that feature a clay surface. The main stadium (which is a hardcourt) is the 3rd largest tennis stadium in the U.S. with a capacity of 15,000……This was one of the very few events that I used a Media Credential (for multiple reasons) and it furthered my notion of despising them as my preference is for a regular ticket. There was no direction for credential pickup as I had to ask twice for more information. In the media trailer, they couldn’t find my credential, delaying me more than a few minutes. Finally, there was no sign for the media tent inside the stadium as I was looking to get out of the heat. I stumbled upon it on my way out. Blah….In an attempt to draw more fans, this year’s event featured a Men’s Legends match on Thursday and Friday Evening. Included were Andy Roddick, James Blake and John McEnroe.
Game
It was a grueling first set in the afternoon heat and after Larsson saved a few set points on her serve, Svitolina was able to close her out 6-4. The 10th seed then outclassed and ran away with the match by winning the second set, 6-2. Larsson made it all the way to the Semifinals as a Lucky Loser during the qualifying rounds.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
