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 Centre Court Debenture Facilities (Virtual Tour)
Background to the Long Term Plan
Centre Court of the future
Outline timescale
How the roof works
| Centre Court Debenture Facilities (Virtual Tour) |
Centre Court Debenture holders will enjoy a range of new bars and restaurants in the new Centre Court stadium. Click the links below for 360 degree panoramics of the new facilities.
General Views
The Main Entrance
Corridor
Entry and Terrace
The Wimbledon Shop
The Terrace
The Terrace Restaurant 1
The Terrace Restaurant_2
The Terrace Restaurant_3
The Courtside
The Courtside Restaurant: View 360 degree panoramic
The Gallery
The Gallery Bar: View 360 degree panoramic
The Gallery Terrace: View 360 degree panoramic
The Roof Top
The Roof Top Bar: View 360 degree panoramic
The All England Club’s Long Term Plan, unveiled in 1993, set
out to enhance Wimbledon’s widely acknowledged reputation
as the world's premier tennis event by substantially improving the
quality of the Wimbledon experience for everyone
— players, spectators, media, officials, members and those
who work at the event.
Since then, guided by a blend of tradition and innovation, the Club’s
grounds and facilities have been transformed, including:
| 1997 |
New No. 1 Court, permanent Broadcast Centre, tunnel
linking Church Road with Somerset Road and new Courts 18 and
19, the popular Aorangi Terrace and large screen TV |
| 2000 |
Millennium Building (new facilities for players,
press and photographers, officials, ballboys/girls, Club members
and LTA councillors) |
| 2001 |
Important repairs and improvements to the front of the Centre
Court |
| 2002 |
Major refurbishment of Clubhouse and Royal Box area |
| 2005 |
New boundary wall and hard courts at Southern Apex; resurfacing
of Car Parks 2 and 3 |
| 2006 |
Redevelopment of the turnstile area, together with a new museum,
Wimbledon Shop (open 2005), ticket office and the Club’s
new offices |
| 2009 |
Improved Centre Court (see below) and new No.2 Court |
| Centre Court of the future |
In January 2004, the Club unveiled the latest chapter in the Long
Term Plan with plans for its jewel in the crown — the Centre
Court.
The 2009 Championships will be the first played on Centre Court with a larger capacity of 15,000 people, more comfortable seating and a retractable roof over the court.
Retractable Roof on Centre Court
The roof will provide a first-class, consistent and safe (non-slippery)
playing environment in both open and closed positions.
Of translucent construction to allow natural light to reach the
grass, the roof will offer protection to the grass under all adverse
weather conditions and, with the roof open, will improve growing
conditions throughout the year, particularly at the southern end
where the benefit of extra light will be achieved.
The roof has been designed to close/open in under 10 minutes and
will be closed primarily to protect play from inclement (and, if
necessary, extremely hot) weather during The Championships.
Play will be suspended while the roof closes/opens before being
resumed once both the court surface and bowl have attained the optimum
conditions for players and spectators.
This process will take between 10-30 minutes depending on the prevailing
climatic conditions.
Greater capacity in greater comfort
The Centre Court's capacity has been increased from 13,800
spectators to 15,000 by the addition of six rows of seating to the
upper tier on three (east, north and west) sides.
Greater spectator comfort, including ease of access to the court,
has been assured through the installation of new, wider seats, as
well as extra stairs and lifts.
To allow for the new seating, new media facilities and commentary
boxes were built to replace those currently in the upper tier.
Improved catering facilities
In the new east wing of the Centre Court, both the public and Centre
Court debenture holders have an enhanced quality
of catering and improved ambience.
There are more catering outlets offering a wider choice of food
both indoors and outdoors, the latter on balconies overlooking an
attractively landscaped Tea Lawn area and the Golf Course.
During the non-Championships period visitors will be able to use
the new Café Centre Court with its access to the Centre Court
viewing gallery.
In the same way, the new Long Bar area, adjacent to the Tea Lawn,
will provide indoor facilities for elements of the All England Club's
junior tennis programme, specifically the Wimbledon Junior Tennis
Initiative.
| April 2006 |
• New Museum opened |
| July 2006 onwards |
• Demolition of East Stand and offices
• Removal
of existing roof
• Piling and construction of new
East Stand frame and floors |
| 2007 Championships |
• No roof
• Extra six rows of terracing completed
• Centre Court Debenture facilities relocated |
| July 2007 onwards to include 2008 Championships |
• East Stand building finished and useable for 2008
Championships
• New fixed roof in place
•
Centre Court Debenture Rooms reconstructed |
| July 2008 onwards |
• Completion of moving roof trusses
• Erection
and completion of moving roof
• Fit fabric covering
to sliding roof
• Commissioning and testing of roof
and environment of Centre Court
• Hard landscaping, including Tea Lawn
• Construction of new Gatehouses at Gates 4 and 5 |
| 2009 Championships |
• All works finished and ready |
The retractable roof over Wimbledon’s Centre Court is a type
of ‘folding fabric concertina’.
This allows the roof to be folded into
a highly compressed area when not in use over the court. About 5,200 square metres of a very strong, flexible, translucent waterproof material will be used for the roof.
A key element of the design has been to allow natural light to reach
the grass, while an airflow system will remove condensation from within
the bowl to provide the optimum internal environment for spectators and players when the roof is closed.
The retractable roof is divided into two sections with a total
of nine bays of structural fabric — four bays in one section and
five in the other. Each of the nine bays is
clamped on either side by prismatic steel trusses. There are 10
trusses spanning approximately 77 metres across the court. The ends
of each truss are supported by a set of wheels that move along a
track positioned on the new ‘fixed’ roof of the Centre
Court.
In preparation for closing the roof, one section is parked in its
folded state at the north end of the court while the other is parked
at the south end. A combination of hydraulic jacks and arms
form the mechanism for closing the roof.
The mechanism moves the trusses apart and, at the same time,
unfolds and stretches out the fabric between the trusses over the
court until the two sections meet in an overlapping seam above
the middle of the court.
The arch shape to the tops of the trusses helps the structure to
withstand loading from elements such as snow and wind when the roof
is stretched and closed over the court. The shape also assists in
providing a cleareance of 16 metres for high balls.
The roof has been designed to close in under 10 minutes. If the
roof is being closed for rain, court covers will protect the grass
in the usual way while closure is in progress.
After the roof has been closed, play can resume within a period
of between 10-30 minutes, depending on climatic conditions. |
