Completion of new Roland Garros delayed to 2017

PARIS (AP) -- The renovation of Roland Garros, home of the French Open, will be delayed by a year and completed in 2017.

The French Tennis Federation has pushed back expansion into an area that now hosts a gymnasium for schoolchildren and is due for demolition. Originally, there would have been a gap between the demolition and the building of a new gym by Paris authorities.

Federation general manager Gilbert Ysern tells the French newspaper Le Figaro on Friday that "some parents were worried that their kids would have no place to do sport for a year." He says the federation therefore decided to delay the work.

Roland Garros is smaller than the other three Grand Slam venues - the Australian Open at Melbourne, the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows in New York and London's grass-court event at Wimbledon.

Fans and players regularly complain about congestion at the French Open because of its narrow walkways and limited size.

The new-look Roland Garros will feature 35 clay courts, including a center court with a retractable roof so matches can be played during rain and at night.

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