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Steeped in tradition, North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort has hosted more golf championships than any other site in America—and providing structures to uphold that kind of history calls for nothing less than tenting excellence.
As a provider of event rental solutions, Arena Americas, based in Oak Creek, Wis., specializes in tenting, flooring, seating and event management for a wide range of events, including sports tournaments, corporate functions and racing. The company delivers world-class event infrastructure and services tailored to meet the unique needs of its clients.
Since 2015, Arena Americas has provided comprehensive infrastructure for the U.S. Open Championship. In 2024, the U.S. Open Championship renewed its partnership with Arena Americas to deliver top-tier solutions for one of golf’s most iconic events through 2029. The 2024 U.S. Open took place from June 13-16 at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C., featuring an extensive array of Arena’s premier products, including 450,000 square feet of flooring, 310,000 square feet of carpet and 365,000 square feet of tenting.
Since establishing this relationship, Arena Americas has provided tenting, flooring, carpeting, staircases, railings, video-board structures and other essential features for various United States Golf Association (USGA) championships. “We were excited to extend our relationship with the USGA for the U.S. Open Championship,” says John Tabeling, CEO of Arena Americas. “The U.S. Open is one of the four major golf championships globally, and we take great pride in contributing to its success. Our collaboration with the USGA highlights our dedication to delivering top-tier infrastructure for the most renowned sporting events in the United States and globally.”
Plans for perfection
Arena Americas began working on drawings, renderings and details for the 2024 event more than a year in advance. The client requested that Arena Americas provide temporary structures, stairs, railing and flooring. “We achieved this through careful planning and having the best team in the business,” says Jimmy Parks, president of Arena Americas.
The build started Feb. 25, 2024, and takedown was completed Aug. 5, 2024. The crew installed 264 tents, ranging from a 10-by-10-foot frame tent used for security to a 40-by-85-meter clearspan structure for merchandise and a 15-by-50-by-8-meter double-decker for hospitality. The crew also built a scaffold structure for the new “monster board” on 18 Green, “which we had to modify as they went along since it was a new setup for us,” Parks says.
For Arena Americas, providing structures that host fans from the galleries lining the fairways to the enthusiasts watching from afar was paramount. But the planning process to provide the structures was not without challenges. “As the team responsible for the event’s infrastructure, we were also tasked with coordinating all the other vendors,” Parks says. “Maintaining constant communication with all parties involved was key to overcoming these challenges.”
Renewed partnerships
As the U.S. Open needs changed, Arena Americas adapted accordingly. “While we continued to provide the same core materials—such as floors and tents—since 2015, we collaborated closely with the USGA to create custom tents and viewing spaces for spectators,” Parks says. “With a strong commitment to delivering superior, high-quality structures, Arena is proud to have featured an extensive array of our premier products, as well as plan to add those offerings in the future. Additionally, we provided 3,400 linear feet of drink rail, 6,200 linear feet of glass and spindle rail, multiple custom printed graphics and eight video-board structures.”
Perhaps there is no better vote of confidence for creating standout events than that of renewed partnerships. As it is said, past performance predicts future performance, and the USGA clearly decided that Arena Americas has what it takes to provide ongoing structures for its annual historic golfing event. “Through the new term of this exciting relationship, we look forward to continuing to leverage Arena Americas’
innovative and outstanding high-quality approach to ensure the U.S. Open maintains its reputation for excellence and sophistication,” says Leighton Schwob, senior director of operations at the USGA. “We feel proud of what we have been able to accomplish together over the years and look forward to future growth and success.”
“Arena takes great pride in our decade-old partnership with the USGA to provide structures and flooring solutions for the iconic U.S. Open Championship,” Parks says. “We are honored to work with an amazing organization like the USGA and we are extremely excited to continue to be the exclusive structures and flooring provider for the USGA’s U.S. Open Championships through 2029.”
Sigrid Tornquist is a Minneapolis, Minn.-based writer and editor and former InTents editor.