Hospitality at the 2017 U.S. Open

This is my second time to the U.S. Open, thanks to a wonderful vendor of mine! I was invited to their suite prior to the Women's Semi-Finals match. The last time I came here, it was also through an invitation to a hospitality suite. 

In case you're wondering, on the Arthur Ashe Stadium grounds there is a building called the Hospitality Pavilion. It looks like a pop-up maze to me, because the room itself looks like raw space with track lighting. Large rooms are built, and for a fee different companies will take over a room. They'll brand it, furnish it and provide food and beverages for their guests. The companies also provide their guests with a block of tickets for stadium seating, although it seems every suite has at least two flat screens if you want to watch the game there instead, at least until 9:00 PM when the pavilion closes. Also, there is an alcoholic beverage limit of two per person, well, as least in the suite that I was in. 

Okay, I admit I ended the video abruptly but I thought the people inside the suite might get nervous if they saw me filming. Anyway, here's a peek inside the suite and how it's all set up: 

Afterwards, we walked over to the stadium and took our seats. The grounds had a nice set with market stalls and picnic tables for dining, just outside of the stadium entrance.

The stadium itself also has escalators (I don't know if people know that ... they just see the big staircase and pace their way up). Though I'm sure it's nice to be close to court, I don't mind so much sitting up high. As you can see from the photos below, the view is pretty good and I could see the ball volley back and forth. 

It was the Women's Semi-Finals match of Venus Williams vs. Sloane Stephens. I thought this was an intense game with a lot of net volleys, and ball-out calls. Although Venus put up a good fight until the end, it is Sloane Stephens who will advance to the finals. 

It was definitely an exciting night for me! Not only did I get to network with my peers, I also got to watch an awesome match! And as it turns out, through Facebook I found out some of my friends were sitting in the same section as me so I got to meet up with them. 

Overall, it was a fun night!

~T~