TENNIS
Centre Court’s £80m retractable roof was designed by Populous and installed in time for the 2009 Wimbledon championship
redevelopment in recent years. In 2008, the seating capacity was increased to 15,000 with the addition of a restaurant, bar and waitress service. The most sig- nificant improvement however, was the retractable roof installation in 2009, which means that rain no longer stops play. In 2009, the 4,000-seat No. 2 Court
was opened and a 2,000-seat No. 3 Court is being built. Other improvements, which have taken place since include a new No.1 court, a broadcast centre and two extra grass courts, as well as the Millennium Building, which provides ex- tensive facilities for players, press, officials and members.
Gearing up for the big event Wimbledon has come a long way since the first tournament in 1877. The only event was the Gentlemen’s Singles, won by Spencer Gore from a field of 22. Around 200 spectators paid one shil- ling to watch the final. Now people
WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR?
• An exhibition at the museum: The Queue • A range of licensed merchandise featuring the 125th anniversary logo • New 2,000-seat No.3 Court equipped with Hawk-Eye line technology • New Court 4 adjacent to No.3 Court • Competitors’ restaurant food court redesigned to provide more space • Greater range of food for players, including fresh pasta prepared to order • For Court No.1 there will be two balconies with permanent tensioned fabric canopies for debenture holders featuring a new reception area, a 140 cover restaurant and a new bar terrace • Sony has signed an official agreement to be Official 3D Partner, with up to 600 cinemas taking 3D coverage of Men’s Singles Semi-Finals and Men’s and Ladies Singles Finals. Sony 3D coverage will also be taken by a number of the club’s global broadcasters. • A new look website,
www.wimbledon.com, has launched with a series of weekly competitions
queue overnight to get tickets to the show courts – Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament where fans can queue for tickets. The best players come from 60 countries and this year the prize money will amount to £14.6m: a 6.4 per cent increase on last year to attract the players with box office appeal. The champions will each go home with
We want media, officials and staff to have the best working conditions possible, to allow them to do their job well and enjoy being part of the occasion
48 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital
£1.1m. More than 6,000 people work on the championships, including the 250 ballgirls and boys who come from local schools, 330 umpires, 700 security staff and 315 drivers. The organisation has to be meticulous
in order to bring all the elements togeth- er. “Having almost 40,000 guests to your party every day, for 13 days does present a major challenge,” says Ritchie. “We start gearing up for the tournament in Septem- ber/October, making reports from all areas and aspects of the event. Between No- vember and February we discuss and plan improvements and from February onwards
Issue 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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