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ANATOMY OF AN EVENT: WIMBLEDON Centre Court’s roof, opened in 2009 - Getty Images Sport Loch Lomond golf tournament in Scotland. “Any rain delay can cause a problem but we work around that,” adds Crump. “We could fly up to Scotland if required and our engineers can get the equipment up and running in two hours if necessary. But if you give them two weeks, they will take two weeks.” A major challenge for both the All England Club and Creative occurred in 2006 when the scoreboards on the Centre and No.1 Courts had to be changed to be able to deal with Hawkeye technology and the now famous video review system for line calls. “I thought I was going to get sackload of letters about it but the general response to Hawkeye was unbelievably positive, and when we did the scoreboard changes they looked good and the quality was high, so no-one bothered about it,” says Ritchie. Planning never stops Within the range of suppliers there are also key relationships. Creative could not show the range of information on its screens without the input of IBM, a multi-national giant that has developed and managed IT systems and provided statistics for the All England Club and its showpiece since 1990. “IBM supports a number of properties and among those are all the four tennis Grand Slams,” says Alan Flack, IBM’s Wimbledon programme executive. “Planning never really stops, what we learn from Wimbledon is taken on to the US Open, but we really kick on with Wimbledon from the end of each calendar year. “Each year there seems to be subtle, or major, changes in lay-out. Hawkeye was an innovation that we had to adapt to and there are always new statistics coming on stream, but the great thing about Wimbledon is that they have long-term relationships. There is not much chopping and changing each year. “We bring the kit in straight from Roland Garros. The main infrastructure which drives the IBM systems is in the US but there are local servers and scoring servers which need to be installed. “We have 100-120 people on site during the Championships, largely made up of technicians, statistical experts and data collectors (who are all at least county-level tennis players or above).” Flack confirms Ritchie and his team are keen for innovation to be given its head: “The All England Club looks to IBM to be at the forefront of technology and I think we have proved that over the years. In the 1990s we created the first website shop and now we have the award-winning IBM Seer, the world’s first augmented reality app using live data feeds.” The Seer allows a smartphone with a compass to show the user what is happening around the complex. It offers information on queue lengths, where food and drink stands are located and can also be held 500 metres from Centre Court, asks if the user wants to be able to see what’s happening inside and can then stream live video. “It’s all about added value and it will now become a core part of our offering. It has really caught the imagination,” adds Flack. “People ask me if IBM would ever want to cut Wimbledon from its portfolio, and I always say no. It’s a great showcase and allows us to take a lot of clients behind the scenes to show them our ‘wow’ technology.” IBM and Creative work in partnership with the BBC, the UK public-service broadcaster that has been showing Wimbledon since 1927. Their cameras have seen most things but no-one was prepared for this year’s world record match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut: Ritchie allowed the BBC to interview the exhausted duo on court at the end of the 11-hour contest, breaking the normal practice for matches outside of the finals. “We always try to accommodate broadcasters. If, for instance, NHK Japan wanted to show a Japanese player at a time and on a court that will help their coverage we would try to do that,” Ritchie reveals. “There is a huge benefit to us of being broadcast on a station such as NHK, so we want to help them because it helps us.” Japan is one of the countries where the All England Club has licensees who sell tennis-related equipment and luxury products, so exposure on a national broadcaster is good business. Broadcasting rights are also the biggest constituent of the Club’s income. Ritchie’s numerous tasks during the year include upholding the great traditions of Wimbledon - white clothing for the players (he personally approves each new design sent in by the manufacturers) and ensuring the ground staff have what is 66 SportBusiness International • No. 160 • 09.10
CONVENTION - NOVEMBER 2010 RIO DE JANEIRO Bringing the world of footBall together The first truly global business event to be held in Brazil, ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. “Brazil provides the perfect scenario for an event of Soccerex’s magnitude. In the coming years, it will bring with it the most relevant football industry matters and present the world with the beauty of this wonderful sport that transcends global boundaries.” Ricardo Terra Teixeira (President, 2014 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee) $890 billion The amount expected to be spent by the Brazilian Government to improve the country’s infrastructure ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. To join the football world at the Soccerex Global Convention, please contact us on: t: +44 (0)208 742 7100 e: promotions@soccerex.com w: www.soccerex.com
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