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NEW YORK -- U.S. Open rain delays at Arthur Ashe Stadium will be no more by 2017. The Grand Slam tournaments centre court could be covered by a retractable roof as soon as the 2016 tournament, but more likely the following year, U.S. Tennis Association officials said Thursday. As the mens final was delayed to Monday each of the last five years, they had insisted a roof wasnt yet feasible financially or structurally. A decade after the USTA started studying the issue and three years after architectural firm Rossetti began researching the project, the price tag and the technology are finally workable. The construction will cost about $100 million, down from earlier projections of $200 million. The U.S. Open becomes the last of the four major tournaments to cover up. The main stadiums at Wimbledon and the Australian Open already have roofs, and the French Open is planning one. Flushing Meadows No. 2 stadium, Louis Armstrong, will eventually be covered, too. Someday the Grandstand, the third-largest court, may be, as well. The Ashe roof will be part of a broader, previously announced project to rebuild and expand other courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The total price tag is estimated at $550 million. The USTA must still receive final approvals from the city for the plans. The organization had commissioned three different studies over the years that determined a roof wasnt feasible. The last time the USTA made a request for proposals, in 2009, it did not select Rossetti, the original architect for Ashe. The firm "took it rather personally," said Danny Zausner, the tennis centres chief operating officer. "Behind the scenes, they worked on the project for free for a year to try to come up with a concept that no one else thought of," he said. When Rossetti presented its findings to USTA officials in 2010, they were intrigued. Still, the firm was a long way from solving the riddle of topping Ashe. As USTA executive director Gordon Smith put it: "It wasnt built for a roof, and the land conditions around it on the site are abysmal." "We had to find out how to support 5,000 tons of steel on soil that is mush," said Matt Rossetti, the firms head. Using lighter materials atop the stadium was considered, but that proved unworkable. The USTA was willing to remove some seats, though not the entire upper bowl. Technology innovations over the years helped in making what was once impossible possible, Rossetti said - in particular, computer modeling. But he estimated that 80 per cent of the shift simply came from the painstaking, time-consuming process of delving into different options. A big breakthrough occurred just six months ago, when the firm surmised that the roof could be supported by only eight columns. At one point, the prediction was 32 -- and there wasnt space for that at the tennis centre. It was only two months ago that Rossetti determined the eight columns would actually work. Meanwhile, the rain kept falling at the Open. This years mens final is slated for Monday from the start to spread out the tournament more and reduce the odds that Mother Nature wreaks havoc with the schedule. The streak of bad weather didnt speed up the goal of a roof, Zausner said, though it certainly reminded USTA officials why they wanted one. As recently as last years tournament, they were still left explaining why they couldnt do it. "I dont think it was as much pessimistic as frustrated," he said. Players vented about starting and stopping matches and quick turnarounds as officials tried to squeeze competition in after delays. They didnt want to hear about poor soil and prohibitive costs. "I can appreciate from their perspective: This isnt my problem. Fix it," Zausner said. The USTA lost TV revenue money. The fans, though, were still coming. "Even though were selling record tickets, is it building frustration from our fans and our broadcast partners? Theres no question," Zausner said. "But if we could have had this design five years ago and knew what we know today five years ago, Im sure we wouldve had a roof five years ago." The roof, made of a lightweight fabric, will take 5-7 minutes to close, though delays will last longer for drying the court. Zausner said the USTA couldnt learn much from Wimbledon and the Australian Open other than the best time for closing the roof, because the stadiums are so different. The Grandstand will move to the opposite corner of the complex, with capacity increased from 6,000 to 8,000 fans. Armstrong, which currently seats 10,000, will be replaced with a larger version that can hold 15,000. The construction will allow for more and improved concessions than the two 50-year-old stadiums currently support. New tournament and practice courts with additional seating also will be built so more fans can see the players in action; they could be complete as soon as next years Open. As of now, only a few dozen spectators can squeeze in a view of the practice courts through a fence. Walkways will be widened and esplanades created in an attempt to reduce the bottlenecks that frequently pile up between the main entrance and Ashe. The tennis centres capacity for each day session will increase from 40,000 to 50,000 people. The new Grandstand is scheduled to open by the 2015 Open and Armstrong by 18. Fans will see some of the work in progress; temporary bleachers likely will be used around the new Armstrong court at the midpoint of the two-year project. The USTA will fund the project through bonds and increased revenue; officials said ticket prices would not be raised to pay for it. A gap between the roof and stands will let in fresh air, and the stadium will be climate controlled. The challenge is to keep conditions similar for the players with the roof open and closed. "I dont particularly like going from indoors to outdoors to indoors. Its also tough," defending champion Andy Murray said Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati. "But its good for TV. Its good for fans that are watching. For the players that are scheduled on that court, its great."Nike React Canada . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. 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The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Astou Ndour scored 18 points, and Spain routed winless Senegal 97-43 Friday to set up a pivotal game to wrap up womens basketball group play.Spain (3-1) will play Canada (3-1) on Sunday in the final game before the medal round, and the winner can avoid the Americans until the gold medal game. Canada lost 81-51 to the U.S. earlier Friday.The Spaniards will be well rested. They scored the first nine points against Senegal and led 46-19 at halftime. They extended the lead in the second half and finisshed with six players scoring in double figures.dddddddddddd That allowed coach Lucas Mondelo to rest his starters with only Anna Cruz playing more than 21 minutes.Senegal (0-4) wraps up against Serbia (1-3), which is trying to advance to the medal round in its first Olympic appearance. Mame Marie Sy led Senegal with 16 points.---Online:AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org/ ' ' '