Fall concert of ‘prominent performer’ slated for Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale in New Haven

(Arnold Gold-New Haven Register) File photo (Arnold Gold-New Haven Register) File photo Photo: Journal Register Co. Photo: Journal Register Co. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Fall concert of ‘prominent performer’ slated for Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale in New Haven 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> Live music will return to the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale this fall after the Board of Alders unanimously authorized the Tennis Foundation of Connecticut to host a September show for a yet unnamed act.

Connecticut Open Tournament Director Anne Worcester and Tennis Foundation of Connecticut Executive Director Sara Layedra said Tuesday they were thankful for the board’s approval, which signals the return for live musical performances to the tennis stadium. The two were in attendance Monday after the resolution to approve the Sept. 16 concert introduced by Alder Adam Marchand, D-25, was passed at City Hall. Marchand did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

The resolution was submitted as a unanimous consent to give the organizers more time to secure the “prominent performer,” Marchand said in his resolution letter requesting the approval of the concert.

“Officials from the Tennis Foundation and from the concert booking agency have met with me and colleagues representing the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the Connecticut Tennis Center, and I am satisfied that the planning for the event is robust and will minimize disruption to nearby residents,” Marchand wrote in his letter.

Five residents living near the Tennis Center appeared mostly unfazed by the potential for noise from the open-air venue, with many pointing to its neighbor, Yale Bowl, as a more likely source for noise pollution.

Luke Pfaff has lived on Yale Avenue, close to the Chapel Street intersection, for about two years and said a concert at the tennis stadium wouldn’t bother him because he’s hardly home. His neighbor on the same street down the road, Polly Russell, has lived on Yale Avenue for 18 years and said she can hear noise from tennis matches during the Connecticut Open, but the sound is “part of living here.”

“If it becomes a regular event, I might be worried about it,” Russell said about concerts at the tennis stadium.

Worcester declined to name the artist performing in September, but said it will be an artist who “will be very appealing to New Haven residents and visitors alike.” Worcester said the concert is being produced with a local promoter.

The concert will host anywhere between 5,000 to 8,000 attendants inside the 13,500 seat stadium, Layedra said, and will feature a stage on the east side of the stadium. The concert marks the venues introduction as a multi-use, potentially year-round-use facility. The facility is owned by the Tennis Foundation of Connecticut while its sole annual event, the Connecticut Open, was purchased by the State of Connecticut in 2013.

“For years, everybody’s been wondering why you can’t use this beautiful facility more than just the summer for the tennis tournament,” Worcester said.

Worcester said the state bought the tournament to ensure the tournament stayed here. It’s also made substantial investments in the facility, including capital renovations that would allow the facility to host events year-round. Worcester said the state has spent $3 million over the past three years renovating the site with an eye for physical improvements, cost-savings for the tournament and upgrading the facility to allow more uses. Additional uses — concerts, meetings or conferences — all are potential sources of revenue.

Worcester said the added priority became finding new ways of using the facility, instead of simply maintaining it.

Worcester pointed to how another tennis stadium is being used for a unique performance. The Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York, will offer two evening performances of the Kevin Spacey one-man show “Clarence Darrow” next week. The venue will provide a complete 360-view stage for the performance.

“The bottom line is that the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale is a very unique and beautiful venue,” Worcester said. “For the first time in many years, these renovations make it possible to host these events outside of the Connecticut Open.”

Holding concerts has been problematic in the past, Worcester said, with hindrances such as narrow tunnels making the transportation of production equipment tricky.

The Center last requested and was granted permission to hold a concert in 1993, ahead of a multi-show lineup in 1994 that included the Indigo Girls, the Steve Miller Band, Bonnie Raitt and Bruce Hornsby, Patti Labelle and Ashford & Simpson, and Alan Jackson and Faith Hill, who were scheduled to perform in September 1994. The last Register story for a concert at the Tennis Center was a Julio Iglesias show in August 1994.

Worcester said that in addition to Marchand, other alders representing districts near the center, Darryl Brackeen Jr., D-26, and Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker, D-23, helped bring the concert to the stadium.

Lindsey Norton, who lives on Westwood Road, said a concert at the tennis stadium wouldn’t be much of a nuisance, while Daniel P. Buteau, who lives on Chapel Street, said parking could be a concern.

“If it’s somebody good, I’d probably watch it,” Buteau said. “I can’t speak for everyone else.”

Another nearby resident who’s lived on Chapel Street since 1978 said she would like to see more events at the tennis stadium that generate revenue for the city. The resident requested her name not be printed, but said she wouldn’t mind a concert at the tennis venue as long as it’s produced correctly.

The resident was also curious about who would play in September, recalling past concerts at the Yale Bowl, like a Beach Boys performance that allowed her to sit near her home and listen to the music at no cost.

“I love rock and roll,” the resident said. “I just don’t want it to keep me up all night.”

Russell has a slightly different outlook.

“If it goes more to oldies like Beach Boys territory, I might have to move,” Russell said.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901.