© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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(Flushing, NY) — The tennis stars at the U.S. Open are playing in a bird-friendly facility. The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s wedged-shaped lamps are designed to cut light pollution to preserve view of the stars in the sky and protect wildlife. The lamps do this by directing light onto the players, without tossing light into surrounding skies. Night lights can disrupt bird migration and confuse other local wildlife, like frogs and fireflies. The complex’s 17 tournament courts were approved as dark sky-friendly last year.
The USTA’s managing director of capital projects and engineering Chuck Jettmar said, “This is an international event that has an impact on the community.” The lights at the complex also glow at a quarter of their brightness during the year, when courts are rented out.
