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29:
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joined at the corners to form a continuous structure. The stands were considerably enlarged in 1906 and in 1909 a new stand B was constructed increasing capacity by 600 seats. In 1914 the seating capacity was increased from 2,300 to 3,500 and this remained unchanged until the move to the new ground at Church Road.
438:
The roof was designed by SCX Special
Projects Ltd and controls for mobilising the roof were designed by Fairfield Control Systems Ltd. and Moog who supplied the electric control system comprising electric actuators, servo motors, servo drives and closed-loop controllers. All companies undertake all
305:
The original centre court roof from 1922, which partly covers the stands, has been modified several times. In 1979, it was raised by one metre to allow the capacity to be increased by 1,088. Further building work came in 1992 with a replacement of the roof and a modified structure which allowed 3,601
281:
a total of 12 courts were available which were laid out in a 3×4 grid and there was no actual centre court. This changed in 1881 when the middle two courts of the middle row were combined to form a Centre Court. The name was kept when the club relocated to its present site at Church Road in 1922. It
229:
event of the tennis calendar. It is considered the world's most famous tennis court. It incorporates the clubhouse of the All
England Club. Its only regular use for play is during the two weeks a year that the Championships take place. Centre Court has a premier box, known as the Royal Box, for use
342:
to cover the entire court. Building work began with the removal of the existing roof over the stands at the end of the 2006 championships. There was no roof over the stands for the 2007 event, and fixed parts of the new construction were visible the following year. The lack of a roof played a key
309:
A full retractable roof (see below) was completed in 2009, and capacity increased to 15,000 by adding six rows of seats to the upper tier on the east, north, and west sides. New media facilities, scoreboards including video, and commentary boxes were built to replace those currently in the upper
297:
The initial capacity of the Centre Court is not known. In 1881 temporary covered stands (A, B and C) were erected on three sides of the Centre Court and in 1884 stand A was converted into a permanent stand, to be followed in 1885 by the conversion of stands B and C. In 1886 the three stands were
301:
The court suffered from bomb damage during World War II when five 500 lb bombs hit the Centre Court during an air attack in
October 1940. 1,200 seats in the stadium were destroyed and although play resumed on time after the war in 1946, the court wasn't fully repaired until 1949.
442:
The roof's ten trusses each weigh 100 tonnes, and the total weight, including non-moving parts, is 3,000 tonnes. The total area of the roof when fully deployed is 5,200 m. The cost of the roof has not been disclosed by the club, but is estimated at
475:
The
Scoreboard on centre court's present shape and layout closely reflect that of the original scoreboard installed in the 1950s, which featured manually inserted panels for player names and incandescent-lightbulb display of scores. In 1982,
276:
The name "Centre Court" derives from the location of the principal court at the All
England Croquet Club's original site off Worple Road, Wimbledon – where the main court was located in the centre of all the other courts. For the first
420:'s environmental chief David Simpson said after Murray's late-night win that late-night tennis would not cause any problems. However, when the record late finish was surpassed in 2010 during a match between
432:
on Centre Court. This was then exceeded on
Saturday 30 June 2012, when Andy Murray beat Marcos Baghdatis in their 3rd round match, which was completed at 11:02 pm, in spite of the 11:00 pm ruling.
382:
The roof takes up to 10 minutes to close, during which time play is suspended. However, the time to transfer from outside to inside play can be up to 45 minutes while the air-conditioning system
1413:
601:
237:
A retractable roof was installed in 2009, enabling play to continue during rain and into the night up until a council-imposed curfew of 11:00 pm. Centre Court, along with
496:
There is an inscription above the entryway to Centre Court which reads "If you can meet with triumph and disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same" – lines from
416:. Play on Centre Court had never gone past 9:17 pm, but with the roof closed and the floodlights on, the match could be completed after dark – at 10:38 pm.
344:
1211:
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390:
dictate that the roof, once closed, must remain closed until the end of the match, so some matches may be completed indoors even though the sun has re-emerged.
1572:
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After many years of debate by players, fans, media and officials that often occurred during rain delays, the All
England Club finally decided to build a
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347:, which saw the match end in near-darkness after nearly two hours of rain delays. The completed retractable roof structure was ready for the
670:
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The roof was closed for the first time during a competitive
Championships match at about 4:40 pm on Monday 29 June 2009, during the
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46:
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On Sunday 8 July 2012, Andy Murray and Roger
Federer contested the first Wimbledon final to be played partially under a roof.
986:
282:
was not until a further four courts were added in 1980 that Centre Court's location in the grounds again matched its name.
961:
536:
351:, being unveiled in April 2009 and tested with a capacity audience during an exhibition match on 17 May 2009, featuring
1503:
1498:
712:
246:
849:
408:
The first full match to be played with the roof closed was a men's singles fourth round match between
British player
1567:
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818:
1293:
1303:
1298:
306:
seats to have a clearer view of the court which had previously been restricted by the number of roof supports.
480:
scoreboards on the same layout were installed on Wimbledon courts. These were replaced in 2008 by full colour
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375:
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323:
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61:
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and other distinguished guests. It is the sixth largest tennis-specific stadium in the world by capacity.
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428:
which ran until 10:58 pm it was reported that Merton council had imposed a curfew of 11:00 pm
1180:
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the nearly 15,000-seat stadium for indoor-grass competition. The tournament rules for the Wimbledon
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8:
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1101:– Aerial photo of the Centre Court at Worple Road during the 1921 Wimbledon Championships
467:
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707:(21st ed.). London: All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. pp. 9–11, 99.
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tier. New wider seats were installed and new additional stairs and lifts were added.
50:
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Centre Court is the large rectangular building at the centre of this aerial view
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Dot-matrix Wimbledon scoreboard in use from 1982 to 2008 (photo from
387:
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221:(also known as the All England Club) and is the main court used in
916:
Wimbledon’s Centre Court roof provides lucrative late-night tennis
1268:
502:
948:"Wimbledon 2012: Andy Murray beats Marcos Baghdatis in thriller"
602:"Andy Roddick triumphs over Lleyton Hewitt in five-set slugfest"
618:"Wimbledon Targets U.S. Market to Fund $ 168 Million Expansion"
318:
517:
1421:
1111:
Information about Wimbledon Centre Court and a Photo Gallery
1066:"Is the Centre Court roof the real star of Wimbledon 2012?"
16:
Main court at a tennis complex, specifically at Wimbledon
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655:
513:
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1107:features time-lapse video of the construction work
1549:
1219:
945:
635:"Retractable Roof on Wimbeldon Tennis Stadium"
265:Centre Court in 1883, Challenge Round between
1573:Buildings and structures in Wimbledon, London
1407:
1205:
1083:The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection
1364:USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
992:. Fairfield Control Systems. Archived from
1414:
1400:
1212:
1198:
367:(subsequently returning from retirement).
962:"Wimbledon Centre Court Retractable Roof"
729:"Wimbledon Centre Court Retractable Roof"
1603:1937 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
1598:1936 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
1593:1935 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
1588:1934 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
1423:All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
1324:All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
929:"Latest ever finish at Wimbledon tennis"
698:
696:
466:
454:
369:
343:role in the finish to the now-legendary
329:
317:
284:
260:
219:All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
47:All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
842:"First match under roof begins new era"
1550:
702:
439:the planned preventative maintenance.
289:The Centre Court royal box during the
183:(formerly HOK Sport) (2009 renovation)
1395:
1193:
693:
488:replays to the crowd in the stadium.
794:"Roof is welcome Wimbledon addition"
322:A roof-less Centre Court during the
1578:Retractable-roof stadiums in Europe
1118:Key facts and project specification
537:List of tennis stadiums by capacity
313:
33:Centre Court at Wimbledon, May 2019
13:
172:100 million (2009 renovation)
14:
1614:
1116:New Centre Court Retractable Roof
1092:
891:"Murray wins late-night thriller"
768:"Wimbledon set for late finishes"
754:"Stars play under Wimbledon roof"
484:screens intended to provide full
395:fourth round Ladies Singles match
516:
471:New LED Centre Court scoreboard.
103:
27:
1558:Sports venues completed in 1922
1075:
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1041:
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979:
954:
946:David Ornstein (30 June 2012).
939:
921:
909:
883:
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848:. 29 June 2009. Archived from
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721:
627:
611:
595:
579:
549:
491:
279:Wimbledon Championship in 1877
223:The Championships at Wimbledon
1:
542:
450:
378:with the new retractable roof
1468:Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
1222:Grand Slam tournament venues
987:"Case Study: Wimbledon Roof"
557:"Wimbledon AELTC - POPULOUS"
376:2010 Wimbledon Championships
324:2007 Wimbledon Championships
7:
1105:Centre Court Long-term plan
509:
291:London 2012 Summer Olympics
10:
1619:
639:World Construction Network
345:2008 Wimbledon men's final
256:
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1314:
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1229:
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1129:
1049:"Facts and Figures / FAQ"
871:Andy Murray stays up late
705:Wimbledon Compendium 2011
192:
187:
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157:
149:
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134:
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114:
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60:
42:
38:
26:
374:Centre Court during the
84:51.4337444°N 0.2140639°W
1568:Wimbledon Championships
1563:Tennis venues in London
1527:Lawn Tennis Association
1484:Wimbledon Championships
1374:Louis Armstrong Stadium
1294:Court Philippe Chatrier
1175:Germantown Cricket Club
733:designbuild-network.com
671:"Championships History"
245:, was also host to the
194:Wimbledon Championships
472:
464:
379:
335:
327:
294:
273:
89:51.4337444; -0.2140639
1304:Court Simonne Mathieu
1299:Court Suzanne Lenglen
876:20 March 2012 at the
703:Little, Alan (2011).
470:
458:
373:
333:
321:
288:
264:
1532:The Wimbledon Effect
1254:Margaret Court Arena
966:SCX Special Projects
852:on 24 September 2009
586:"Open-top Wimbledon"
251:2012 Summer Olympics
1369:Arthur Ashe Stadium
1289:Stade Roland Garros
1134:Stade Roland Garros
933:Your Local Guardian
225:, the third annual
80: /
23:
1123:Facts on Wimbledon
1099:Britain From Above
829:Wimbledon new roof
622:Bloomberg Business
473:
465:
414:Stanislas Wawrinka
412:and Switzerland's
380:
349:2009 Championships
336:
328:
295:
274:
247:tennis competition
21:
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1544:
1389:
1388:
1188:
1187:
1171:Succeeded by
1085:New Chapter Press
1029:on 16 August 2013
918:timesonline.co.uk
498:Rudyard Kipling's
208:
207:
166:Construction cost
51:Wimbledon, London
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1416:
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1130:Preceded by
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1126:
1086:
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1073:
1063:
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1056:
1045:
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1038:
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1034:
1025:. Archived from
1019:"Wimbledon Roof"
1015:
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991:
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677:. Archived from
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625:
624:, April 30, 2014
615:
609:
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593:
583:
577:
576:
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563:. Archived from
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446:
445:£80–£100 million
340:retractable roof
314:Retractable roof
107:
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1249:John Cain Arena
1244:Rod Laver Arena
1231:Australian Open
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999:on 4 March 2016
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935:. 22 June 2010.
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878:Wayback Machine
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774:. 22 April 2009
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681:on 1 June 2012
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215:tennis court
211:Centre Court
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145:Construction
130:14,979 seats
75:0°12′50.63″W
72:51°26′1.48″N
22:Centre Court
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1430:Main Courts
1344:No. 3 Court
1339:No. 2 Court
1334:No. 1 Court
1281:French Open
856:12 November
738:12 November
532:No. 1 Court
492:Inscription
461:No. 1 Court
410:Andy Murray
357:Steffi Graf
243:No. 2 Court
239:No. 1 Court
109:Southfields
87: /
62:Coordinates
1552:Categories
1461:Facilities
1452:No 3 Court
1447:No 2 Court
1442:No 1 Court
1379:Grandstand
1264:1573 Arena
1023:moog.co.uk
880:Daily Dust
543:References
478:dot matrix
451:Scoreboard
361:Tim Henman
227:Grand Slam
1489:Davis Cup
1316:Wimbledon
1259:Kia Arena
1146:Davis Cup
895:BBC Sport
798:BBC Sport
772:BBC Sport
590:BBC Sport
388:fortnight
177:Architect
158:Renovated
1520:See Also
874:Archived
778:22 April
685:30 March
561:POPULOUS
510:See also
486:Hawk-Eye
397:between
181:Populous
126:Capacity
43:Location
1356:US Open
1269:Court 3
1003:28 June
971:28 June
901:29 June
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267:William
257:History
249:at the
230:by the
217:at the
188:Tenants
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1477:Events
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139:Grass
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