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US OPen Sets First Week Attendance Records As Bigger And Younger Crowds Fill Stadium to 100% Capacity

FLUSHING, N.Y., September 1, 2008 - The USTA today announced that the all-time attendance record of 423,420 was set for the first week of the 2008 US Open. The USTA is projecting that more than 720,000 fans will attend this year’s event, topping last year’s all-time attendance record of more than 715,000. Attendance at the US Open has surged by more than 180,000 since the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1997 vs. 10 years ago, and over 100,000 vs. five years ago.

In 2008, bigger and younger crowds are filling Arthur Ashe Stadium to 100% of capacity for the first time. Following a record Opening Day combined crowd of 59,154, each of the next six days’ daily attendance totals topped 60,000, also for the first time.

“We are thrilled with the record response to the US Open, particularly in light of the economic challenges facing the country today,” said Arlen Kantarian, CEO, Professional Tennis, USTA. “The US Open has become a global sports and entertainment event that is attracting fans from around the world in record numbers.”

With the record crowds, the US Open also is enjoying some of its strongest all-time concession and merchandise sales, including:

· Total concession sales are up 6% over last year’s record sales.
· The top three food and beverage sales days in history, with each day topping more than $1.5 million in gross sales.
· Three million-dollar merchandise sales days over the course of the first week.

Additionally, USOpen.org, the official website of the US Open, has set the all-time week one record for website visits with 13.67 million visits in the first week. Users coming to USOpen.org are staying longer than ever, with the average user spending 73 minutes on the site, an increase of 14% over 2007 usage. Downloads of all exclusive content, including video programming and SlamTracker has skyrocketed in 2008.

Posted on September 2, 2008
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