From NFL Stadium to major tennis tournament in record time
Miami Gardens, FL — SYNLawn’s sister company Laykold®, has been the official surface provider of the Miami Open for the past 35 years. However, this year’s tournament move to Hard Rock Stadium, located in Miami Gardens, Florida, a multi-purpose NFL Stadium and home to the Miami Dolphins added another level of complexity and time challenges to this high-profile project.
The project included several challenges and extremely tight deadlines to achieve everything the tournament required. As the official home of the Miami Dolphins, access to the venue was limited with high security. Three weeks out from the competition, there was only an asphalt base in the stadium for the show courts. With a requirement for nine additional courts, a massive transformation of the parking space around the stadium also needed to take place beginning two months prior to the tournament commencement. Further requirements included the creation of a distinct color palette to give the tournament a ‘Miami flavor’ while meeting ball visibility and player performance standards.
As a result of Laykold’s efforts, the Miami Open successfully delivered a high-end, 5th Major ATP tennis tournament in record time with some of the highest fan attendance in history. The new Miami Open court colors; Oasis & Biscayne Blue were the talk of the tournament among tennis enthusiasts and spectators, perfectly capturing the sea, the sky and the sizzle of ‘Hard Rock’ tennis. Player feedback was very positive around court consistency and speed. With the winner of the Men’s tournament, Roger Federer saying “I really think it’s actually pretty good.”
I really think it’s actually pretty good.
Plans have already been set into motion for the 2020 Miami Open tournament with a newly developed technology to be employed allowing court coatings to be laid on new asphalt within a short time. This innovation is at the heart of Hard Rock Stadium’s ability to deliver the Miami Open and host the 2020 Super Bowl only days apart.
About Laykold®
Laykold is the number one choice of premier tennis facilities across the world and is also widely used for Pickleball courts, all-weather basketball courts, game courts, and in-line skating. Most recently, Advanced Polymer Technology Corp. (APT) and Laykold have partnered with the U.S. Soccer Foundation and the Safe Places To Play program. For more information, please visit this location.
