APT's Laykold - The Magic Behind the Miami Open 2019

Miami, FL, April 24, 2019 --(PR.com)-- Laykold has been the official surface provider for the Miami Open for the past 35 years. However, the tournament's mover to Hard Rock Stadium and home to the Miami Dolphins added another level of complexity and time challenges to this high-profile project.

Challenge: This project had four major challenges to overcome.

1. Colors - The creation of a court color palette that would give the event a distinct Miami flavor, but at the same time deliver against the strict ball visibility requirements of broadcast and meet player performance standards.

2. Pace Rating - There was a strong desire for court speed consistency between the venues with a "ITF 3 Medium" Pace Rating request.

3. Stadium Within A Stadium - As the official home of the Miami Dolphins, access to the venue was limited. Three weeks out from the tournament, there was only an asphalt base in the stadium for the courts.

4. Transformation Of Parking - With a requirement for additional courts, a huge transformation of the parking space around the stadium needed to take place. We could not begin installation work on nine of these courts until two months prior to the tournament commencing.

Approach: Laykold’s approach to delivering this project was technical and consultative to ensure a high performing result under very tight time constraints.

1. Colors - The color mixing needed to be 100% perfect to ensure accurate matching with existing surfaces. New color recommendations had to be based on Laykold’s understanding of color performance against the environmental conditions in the region.

As a result, Laykold®:
- applied 11 color matches
- explored 24 color combinations
- trialed colors on three test courts
- completed one full court mock-up

Colors were also reviewed by players and tested by Broadcast for TV viewing visibility.

2. Pace Rating - To achieve the desired "ITF 3 Medium" Pace-Rating, Laykold customized our product mix and installation methods to achieve the right ball speed for the tournament.

3. Stadium Within A Stadium - With only the asphalt base three weeks prior to tournament starting, a quick turnaround from Team Laykold® and installation partner Fast-Dry Courts meant the courts were ready in time.

4. Transformation Of Parking - Laykold converted the outdoor parking area at Hard Rock Stadium into 18 practice and 11 tournament courts.

- Nine courts could not be installed until two months prior to tournament starting
- Quick turnaround from Team Laykold® installation partner Fast-Dry Courts
- At conclusion of tournament, courts were transformed back to parking for Hard Rock Stadium.

Result:
- The Miami Open was successfully delivered as a high end, 5th Major ATP tennis tournament in record time with some of the highest fan attendance in history.
- Player feedback has been very positive around court consistency and speed. With the winner of the tournament Roger Federer saying, “I really think it’s actually pretty good.”
- The new Miami Open court colors; Laykold Oasis Blue & 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.
- Laykold developed new technology, to be employed in 2020, which will allow court coatings to be laid on new asphalt within a reduced time period. This Laykold innovation has been at the heart of Hard Rock Stadium’s ability to deliver the Miami Open and host the 2020 Super Bowl only days apart.

For more information on this amazing project, please visit www.laykoldmiamiopen.com