54 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MARСH 12, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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FIREBALL3 coming to USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center
BY BETH DEDMAN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e BIG3 and United State Tennis
Association partnered to bring
FIREBALL3 to the USTA Billie Jean King
National Tennis Center. Th e BIG3 will
host its second weekend festival of the
2020 season in New York at the USTA
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s
Louis Armstrong Stadium on Saturday,
June 27.
Tickets for the event will go on sale
March 13.
BIG3 plans to use the entire National
Tennis Center for a range of family-friendly
events. Th ere will be a FIREBALL3
and entertainment festival each week of
the season with six straight games June
27, high-profi le musical performances
throughout the event and YOUNG3 clinics
in the community all weekend.
“Th is season embodies what it means
to continue getting bigger, better and
bolder for the BIG3,” BIG3 co-founder
Ice Cube said. “Our goal has always
been to be the most undeniably innovative
pro sports league in the world, and
we are excited to announce this unique
opportunity to bring FIREBALL3 to New
Yorkers and our millions of fans globally.
We are ‘bringing the fi re’ to the new Louis
Armstrong Stadium and it’s only fi tting
that the court will continue to see some of
the best athletes in the world — no matter
the sport.”
Aft er completing a fi ve-year renovation
that cost $650 million, the Louis
Armstrong Stadium at the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center can
hold 14,000 fans and is the fi rst-ever
self-ventilated stadium with a retractable
roof.
Th e announcement of the FIREBALL3
partnership came aft er the offi cial creation
of FIREBALL3 as a new global
sport, lowering the minimum age to
qualify for athletes from 27 to 22 to continue
to increase competitiveness, a new
“Bring the Fire” rule that allows teams
one challenge per half resulting in an
in-game one-on-one with the victor winning
the call, no longer requiring professional
basketball experience and encouraging
the best athletes in the world to
try out.
“Th e USTA is excited to welcome some
of the world’s most talented athletes to the
home of the world’s biggest stage in tennis,”
said Danny Zausner, chief operating
offi cer, USTA Billie Jean King National
Tennis Center. “For many years, Louis
Armstrong Stadium has held some of
the greatest match-ups and rivals in tennis,
and now we get to bring fans another
display of greatness and competition. We
are looking forward to transforming our
entire facility into an exciting and entertaining
spectacle for BIG3 fans from our
backyard of Queens and throughout New
York City.”
Many former Knicks and Nets stars will
headline the event including last season’s
BIG3 MVP Joe Johnson and brand-new
addition to the league Zach Randolph.
More information about BIG3 is available
at big3.com.
Photo credit: USTA
/big3.com
/WWW.QNS.COM
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