We recently were given the opportunity to design and construct a brand new chair for the umpire at the U.S. Open Tennis Center. The former chair was constructed of heavy steel, hard to move and assemble, and too bulky in its design.
Their were a few design requirements that absolutely had to stay in. Between singles and doubles matches this 10' plus tall chair had to move close to four feet, easily, by untrained staff. We also had to leave room for the Airline's logo, and work inside the USTA blue color scheme.
Gratz's Design staff did a full 3 dimensional AutoCAD rendering to illustrate its concept. The result was a new, sleek aluminum referee's chair. Much less understructure, much lighter, and very much easier to move. The USTA was very pleased with the result, and featured the umpire chairs at their televised venues. The chairs were delivered on time for the 2006 United States Open.
