Wimbledon’s "enduring popularity has been underlined by the price of its next set of debentures," according to Paul Newman of the London INDEPENDENT. The All England Club has set a price of £31,000 ($44,800) for its issue of five-year debentures for No. 1 Court, "which is more than double the cost" of the present '12-16 issue. Each of the 1,000 debentures, which will cover the period from '17-21 inclusive, gives the holder a ticket on No. 1 Court for the first 10 days of the Championships. Debenture holders "are the only purchasers allowed to sell their tickets anywhere on the open market." From the 11th day onward the biggest matches at the Championships "are all scheduled on Centre Court," which is why the No. 1 Court debentures "cover only the first 10 days." However, No. 1 Court debenture holders "are entitled to buy one seat on that court for each of the last three days." The money raised by debentures goes toward future investment in facilities. The '17-21 issue is expected to raise £25M ($36.2M) before expenses, which will go toward the cost of installing a retractable roof over No. 1 Court. While most purchasers of debentures "simply want to guarantee their seats, some view them as a good investment." The current Centre Court debentures, which cost £50,000 ($72,300) each two years ago, "were being traded earlier this year" at an average price of £95,500 ($138,000) (INDEPENDENT, 4/23).
