Wimbledon consider night games
25/04/2007 |
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Wimbledon will stock extra supplies of sunblock and sunhats for spectators at this summer's Championships, when rebuilding work will leave Centre Court without a roof. After a retractable cover is installed in two years time, the All England Club might also have to supply torches to help the crowd find their way home.
Tim Phillips, the Wimbledon chairman, said yesterday that one of the benefits of the new roof - apart from enabling play to continue during rain - was the ability to complete matches which would otherwise have been stopped due to fading light. TV-quality lighting will be installed as the retractable fabric roof will block out about 70 per cent of the outside light.
Phillips said there was no intention to schedule evening indoor sessions, but admitted there could be very late finishes. Men's five-set singles matches, which can last five hours or more, have often started well after 6pm.
"At this stage we haven't imposed a cut-off time for play to finish, but we will obviously take everybody's interests into account, including those of the players, spectators and local residents," Phillips said.
A new fixed roof will be in place in 2008, but ticket holders are being warned that there will be no cover this summer. New catering facilities in the East and North stands will also open next year, while an extra 1,200 seats will be available by 2009, bringing Centre Court's capacity up to 15,000.
A new 4,000-seat Court Two will be opened in 2009 on what is currently Court 13, with a playing surface sunk three-and-a-half metres below ground level to protect the views of local residents. A new 2,000-seat Court Three will be eventually built on the site of the current Court Two.
Subject to final testing next month, Hawk-Eye electronic line-calling will be used this summer on Centre and No 1 courts, where large screens will display the verdicts to spectators. The British-designed computer system is already deployed at the US and Australian Opens but has never been used on grass.
Players are usually allowed up to two incorrect challenges per set (they can make unlimited challenges if proved correct) plus a third in a tie-break, but Wimbledon looks certain to increase these numbers. This is partly in recognition of the difficulties that service line judges face on grass courts because of the colour and nature of the surface.
Having decided earlier this year that men and women would receive equal prize money for the first time, Wimbledon announced that its singles champions will each be paid £700,000, a record for the sport. Prize money overall is up by 8.7 per cent to £11.3m.
(Source: Independent.co.uk)
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