Sports Management Q2 2011 - UUM

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 significant
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 extensive
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 shilling
to watch the final. Now people
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WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR?
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
�� 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
£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 together.
“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 September/October,
making reports from all areas
and aspects of the event. Between November
and February we discuss and plan
improvements and from February onwards
Issue 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011