The U.S. Open Has Just Built One Of New York's Biggest Engineering Marvels Ever

Those who watched singing legend Phil Collins on TV officially kick off the U.S. Open on Monday evening might have noticed something interesting about his playing venue. As for the crowds of people in attendance at the expansive U.S. Open facility in Queens, a casual look up at Arthur Ashe Stadium might reveal a feature that didn't exist last year. That unmistakable feature? A new retractable roof that cost a cool $150 million and 6,500 tons of steel to build. It also took a dizzying amount of engineering prowess seeing as the almost 20-year old tennis stadium - situated on the soft ground that once housed the 1964 World's Fair nearby - wasn't built to support the weight of a retractable roof. 'We wanted to do this as early as 2003, but it's really tough to put a roof over an existing stadium - it has never been done in the U.S. before and it's a really big stadium. It was an engineering feat to be able to make this happen,' explained Daniel Zausner, Chief Operating Officer of the Billy Jean King Tennis Center in an interview with TheStreet. The roof, which takes a mere seven minutes to close, will undoubtedly address the nagging problem of inclement weather stopping major championship play. The men's finals at the U.S. Open were pushed back every year from 2008 to 2012 due to weather taking a turn for the worse. Last year, the championship match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic was delayed some three hours thanks to Mother Nature. The roof protecting matches from the weather is not only good news for the players at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but also a litany of other interested parties. Said Zausner, 'The players have certainty the matches will continue, for our broadcast partners they don't have to go off air and show repeats of matches from years ago, and for our fans that travel from all over the world and have a ticket for Arthur Ashe Stadium not having rain outs is important.'One long-time U.S. Open sponsor in particular that is in love with the new roof is bank JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - Get Report . It has two big Chase logos on top of the roof - the only company to have branding on it - that could be seen from the highway and various points around the stadium (and overhead, as was the case with the aerial shot on TV when Phil Collins played). Chase recently inked the deal for the roof logos, but has sponsored the U.S. Open for 35 years. 'It [the roof] was a statement feature - [we received] great positioning, and it's in our home of New York,' Frank Nakano, head of sports and entertainment for JPMorgan Chase explained to TheStreet. Chase is no stranger to having its name displayed at sports stadiums. It is already the naming rights partner for baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks' ballpark. In January, the company announced a 20-year agreement to brand the Golden State Warriors' new arena Chase Center. 'For us, it's all about linking people with events that people are passionate about - and we like to be where people are passionate,' said Nakano on the company's stadium marketing push. In short, take that Goldman Sachs (GS) - Get Report .