New Wimbledon Roof Allows For Matches To Extend Into Night

Centre Court's New Roof Part Of $146.2M Renovation Of Wimbledon That Began In '08

The All England Club (AEC) yesterday unveiled the new retractable roof at Centre Court that “will lead to the biggest scheduling shake-up in Wimbledon’s 132-year history,” according to Owen Gibson of the Manchester GUARDIAN. Wimbledon organizers admitted that matches played under the closed roof “could potentially continue long into the evening -- even if the weather is fine.” While AEC execs said that Wimbledon will remain “primarily an ‘outdoor daytime event,’” they added that “deciding sets would be played to a conclusion.” Since Wimbledon matches have no final-set tiebreak, “matches could stretch long into the night.” AEC CEO Ian Ritchie: “The real advantage the roof gives us is certainty. We will still schedule the same number of matches, but if they do over-run, we will shut the roof and play them to the finish.” Gibson notes the 5,200-square-meter roof, a “retractable rather than solid design,” would take “eight to 10 minutes to fully cover the famous court, with a further 20 minutes allowed for airflow systems to reduce condensation and recreate an ‘outdoor’ atmosphere.” Lights on the court are “designed to replicate a bright summer’s day.” The new roof is part of a US$146.2M renovation of Wimbledon that began before the ’08 event. Meanwhile, the AEC, which previously issued new five-year debentures for seats at Centre Court, said that the “capacity would rise by 3,500 to 40,000” for this year’s tournament. Applications for “tickets via the public ballot” are up 20% this year (Manchester GUARDIAN, 4/22).

RAISE THE ROOF: Ritchie said that the roof “merely provided another option should the weather or bad light intervene.” Ritchie: “Wimbledon is a daytime, outdoor event and preference is always to play outdoors and if we can we will prefer to keep the roof open as much as possible” (REUTERS, 4/21). AEC Chair Tim Phillips would not discuss the price of the new roof, saying, “We don’t go into costings” (LONDON TIMES, 4/22). The London Times' Tom Dart said the new roof “hasn’t taken anything away from the beauty of the court,” and it “won’t detract from the magic.” Dart: “It’s a very, very impressive structure, very dramatic with the lights on.” Dart added, “One element they can’t be sure of is how the roof will affect the grass. The system controls humidity and prevents condensation on the inside of the roof and the grass sweating.” When asked why Wimbledon waited so long to install a roof, Dart said, “Centre Court was a very old structure, 85 years old, so it was a difficult decision -- do you knock it down and build from scratch or renovate it? They’ve come up with a brilliant compromise. From about the last ten or 15 rows you can’t actually see the retractable roof” (TIMESONLINE.co.uk, 4/21). In London, Paul Newman writes, “Centre Court with the roof closed feels like a halfway house between an open-air court and a modern indoor stadium” (London INDEPENDENT, 4/22).

DROP SHOTS: The AEC yesterday also announced an increase in Wimbledon prize money of 13.3% for the men's and women's singles champions. However, the pound's "weak exchange rate" means that the U.S. value of the purse decreased 17% to $1.24M from $1.49M in '08. Total prize money rose by 6.2% in British pounds, but fell from US$23.46M to $18.38M. Phillips said that the event was "doing what it could to help offset the weakened exchange rates" (AP, 4/21). Meanwhile, Wimbledon organizers yesterday also said that the tournament has signed a “five-year extension to its sponsorship deal with IBM and a broadcast deal with Star Sports Asia.” Ritchie: “In this climate, it’s a vote of confidence in Wimbledon” (REUTERS, 4/22).