Rendering of the future Vanderbilt Tennis Club

Last year, the "secret" tennis courts at Grand Central Terminal were eliminated to make way for a new Metro-North conductors lounge. However, there was enough room left over for another court and two hitting alleys, and the Wall Street Journal checks in with the progress, "Only in Manhattan, where indoor tennis courts are rarer than personal garages, would anyone sign up a year in advance for an hour of tennis. And only on this space-strapped island would they pay as much as $210 an hour for the privilege."

Well, the new tennis court's fees will be between $100 and $210 depending on the time of day, and the folks behind it "[predict] hedge fund executives, real estate professionals and others will be willing to pay that price when the Vanderbilt Tennis Club opens in September." FWIW, the VTC is paying $225,000 in annual rent; the old tennis court was a steal for Donald Trump at $90,000/year (or $4/square foot, vs. $99/square foto elsewhere in Grand Central)—he had a 30-year lease.

Metro North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders told the WSJ, "We wanted to maintain a sports presence in Grand Central Terminal,. Personally, I think racquet ball or squash would have made more sense. But the people who came up with the money wanted a tennis court, so that's what we'll have."