About Wimbledon - Behind the scenes
Long Term Plan
 Centre Court of the futureOutline timescaleHow the roof works
You can watch time-lapse videos of construction work on Centre Court by viewing the videos below. All videos are in Windows Media format (wmv).
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:
The Centre Court of the future will offer a larger 15,000 capacity, more comfortable seats and a retractable roof over the court. Retractable Roof on Centre Court Centre Court will gain a new, modern retractable roof which will enable all weather play during The Championships and complement the original 1920s stadium. 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 (see attached Editor's Notes for further information on how the roof will work). Greater capacity in greater comfort The Centre Court’s capacity will be 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, will be 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 will be 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 can look forward to an enhanced quality of catering and improved ambience. There will be 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.
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 and 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 the comfort of 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 of structural fabric 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. |
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