Roland Garros Expansion Plans Get Green Light

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

According to recent reports, one of the most important sports venues in the world Roland Garros is set for a massive expansion and renovation process after Parisian authorities lifted a suspension on the plan that was stalled in March in fear of harming the environment.

The aging tennis facility is the host location of the French Open one of the four largest tournaments in the international tennis circuit, dubbed as Grand Slams. The Roland Garros courts were recently about to lose their status as the location of the tournament when the Federation Francaise de Tennis debated whether to replace them as the tournament venue with a new tennis complex.

The Administrative Court of Paris appeals court, however, recently ended the suspension and gave the green light for the proposed revamping which would cost a total of $406 million. The issues that lead to the suspension were mainly linked to the fact that local residents were concerned of the impact the expansion process would have on the nearby botanical garden, according to Yahoo Sports. Betrand Delanoe, the current mayor of Paris, stated that the project would not harm the botanical garden, back when the project first raised eyebrows in the local community, two years ago.

Back in 2011 Roland Garros was given the Federation’s confidence to carry on as the host of the French Open, although the facility is currently the smallest of the four that hold the annual tournaments, the others being: The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, and Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.

Roland Garros’ main tennis arena, Philippe Chatrier, is the sole main arena that has not been upgraded with a retractable roof, with Rod Laver Arena, the main arena of the Australian Open, and Wimbledon’s Centre Court having already used their new improvements at previous events. As previously reported by MHN and CPE, the USTA is undergoing a makeover of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, and part of that process is the fitting of a retractable roof to Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s largest outdoor tennis-only venue.

Court Philippe Chatrier will be expanded and brought to the standard of the previously mentioned arenas, with Roland Garros set to keep its prestigious status as the home of the French Open, the only Grand Slam event played on clay, with U.S. Open and the Australian Open being played on hard courts and Wimbledon on grass.