All England Club To Regain Full Control Of Wimbledon Grounds

All England Club Gains Full Control Of  Wimbledon Grounds In New Deal With LTA

The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) is set to pay the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) US$81.8M to "buy back the half-share in the tournament venue which they gave to the LTA in 1934," according to Andrew Baker of the London TELEGRAPH. The AELTC will "re-acquire the LTA's 50[%] holding in The All England Lawn Tennis Ground PLC, the company who own the Wimbledon tennis site and facilities." Previously, the AELTC premises had been "administered by a six-person board split 50-50 between the AELTC and the LTA, with no casting vote." The move is the "central element in a new agreement" between the two organizations, which will run from 2013 to 2053. The deal, which will be "ratified by both bodies next month," will "clarify the role of both organisations in the long-term future" of tennis in the U.K. Under the deal, the LTA will be "guaranteed 90[%] of any distributable financial surplus resulting from the annual staging" of Wimbledon until at least 2053. Baker notes the "large capital sum and the certainty of substantial annual income should help the LTA to develop" tennis in the U.K. LTA President Stuart Smith said of the deal, "If accepted by our two organisations, it will ensure that [Wimbledon] will continue to make a significant contribution to the development of tennis for many years to come -- from the grassroots to elite" (London TELEGRAPH, 11/20). AELTC Chair Tim Phillips said the deal is a "win-win" situation, but in London, Neil Harman writes that will be the case "only if Wimbledon sustains its place as the premier championships in the world and the LTA inspires more people to play tennis at more affordable prices in more convenient locations" (LONDON TIMES, 11/20).